


Captured Hearts

by Spunky0ne



Series: Captured Hearts [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-07
Updated: 2012-06-21
Packaged: 2017-11-07 04:18:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 57,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/426835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spunky0ne/pseuds/Spunky0ne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During his escape from Central 46, Aizen takes Byakuya's cousin, Tetsuya, as his hostage. He soon realizes that Tetsuya is nothing like the noble brat he expected him to be...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Escape

"You look surprisingly calm this morning, Cousin," said Byakuya, settling at the garden table and waiting as his attendant set a cup of hot green tea in front of him, "As today is the first day of your new assignment, I would have thought you would be running a bit on the restless side. Instead, you seem unusually peaceful."

Tetsuya smiled and nodded.

"I should be anxious," he admitted, "but all I can seem to feel is grateful. You and I both know exactly how close to an assignment like this I would have come without your recommendation, Byakuya."

The noble's lips curved upward slightly.

"You have more than earned the privilege, Tetsuya," Byakuya replied, sipping at his tea, "Your performance as our head of household security has been exemplary. And as I could not recommend you for a position in the military, due to your inclusion in our council of elders, I thought that this would be an appropriate alternative."

"I cannot begin to tell you how honored I am, Cousin," Tetsuya said appreciatively, "As an assistant to Councilor Yukimura, I am but a step away from a position on Central 46's council, myself."

Byakuya nodded.

"And Norio himself is very pleased to have you as his intern. He told me that he looks forward to having the input of someone with 'an ounce of common sense' and the tact it takes to manage the vagaries of diplomacy."

"I am glad to hear that," Tetsuya said, smiling and drinking the last of his tea, "But it's getting late. I have to be going."

He rose from the table and gave a soft whistle. There was a moment of hesitation, then a tall black stallion appeared on the trail outside the back fence, and cleared it easily in a lovely jump, then crossed the gardens and came to a stop in front of the blue-eyed noble.

"Enjoy your first day, then," Byakuya said, nodding, "I will be interested in hearing about it when you return."

"Very well," said Tetsuya, vaulting easily onto the horse's back, "I will see you for dinner, then."

The young noble left the manor and walked his mount along the streets and to the gates leading into Central 46. He dismounted just outside, then patted the horse and sent him trotting away as he turned towards the gates, and felt a soft flutter of uncharacteristic nervousness inside. The guards at the entrance checked his credentials carefully before waving him through the main gates and sending him along the long bridge to the front doors. He calmed as he went, breathing slowly and quietly reminding himself to be certain to act in ways that would reflect well on his family and bring them honor. A second set of guards stopped him at the doorway, then questioned him briefly and granted him entrance.

"May I help you?" asked the woman at the greeting desk.

"I am here for a scheduled meeting with Councilor Yukimura," said Tetsuya.

"Ah, yes," said the clerk, consulting her computer, "You will go straight down this hallway and turn left at the end. His office will be the first on the right after that."

"Arigato," Tetsuya said, earning a lovely smile from the clerk.

He walked on down the hallway and quickly arrived at the councilor's office, to find the man within and talking to a few other male shinigami colleagues. He smiled as he saw Tetsuya outside the doorway.

"Ah, Tetsuya," said the councilor, a silver-haired man with a surprisingly pleasant demeanor for one of the Central 46 councilors, who were usually more dour and reserved, "You arrived just in time. I was about to go down to oversee the transfer of a prisoner. It seems that some damage occurred to Sousuke Aizen's cell during the night, and a councilor is required to be on hand while he is moved so that it can be addressed. We can return here and get you started afterward, ne?"

"Of course," said the younger noble, falling in with the group as they left the office.

Tetsuya felt a nervous, yet somewhat excited twinge inside at the thought of seeing Aizen for himself. He had never laid eyes on the man directly before, but had heard from Byakuya that he had been a rather docile seeming captain, who everyone liked...at least, until he was revealed to be the devil, himself. And not being allowed to enter the military, Tetsuya had been relegated to protection of the manor and its inhabitants as Byakuya had gone off to Hueco Mundo to brace Aizen's Espadas head on. Despite understanding why things were the way they were for him, he did feel he missed much being kept so sheltered. But his safety was enormously important to his cousin, and the feeling was mutual, so he had accepted his situation quietly in honor of his bond with the Kuchiki clan leader.

But now, it seemed, he would be in close quarters with that man they had pursued, the one who had outmaneuvered everyone for so long before being brought down by Ichigo Kurosaki and Kisuke Urahara. He wondered briefly if the man's mouth would still be bound or if he would be allowed to speak. He imagined that if the man did, it wouldn't be something that he would particularly enjoy hearing. He was used to being around mannerly, quiet people, and so was somewhat shy. He had heard that the former captain was anything but shy...and was callous and very, very wicked. Although the well behaved, disciplined part of himself was wary, the more youthful spirits inside him were deliciously piqued.

He stayed at Councilor Yukimura's right side as the group left his office and proceeded down several hallways. At one point, he felt a pair of eyes watching him and looked up at the councilor's associates, but wasn't able to determine which among them had been watching him. They passed through a guarded doorway and entered the first prison level, and Tetsuya noticed immediately, the intense quiet of the environs and the heavy feeling of the power repressing shielding that affected all but the prison guards and councilors. And because he was newly appointed, Tetsuya sensed that his powers, in this area, were held back.

Their footsteps echoed as they continued down the corridor and found the door that led into the next level. They worked their way inward, stopping at each checkpoint and being searched repeatedly. And when they entered the final level, only guards had use of their powers and all others were required to leave their arms at the watch commander's desk. Tetsuya removed his weapon and placed it with the others, pausing as one of Councilor Yukimura's associates laid down his weapon ahead of him, and offered the young noble a friendly smile.

Tetsuya blinked and smiled tentatively back at the man, wondering why he had seemed familiar for a moment. He followed the councilor and his entourage into the eighth level and down the hall to where a guard detail waited at Aizen's cell door.

"Councilor Yukimura," said the head guard, bowing.

"Proceed," the councilor answered.

The guard entered a code into the keypad outside Aizen's cell door, then stepped back and waited as a second guard added another and a third guard added his. Then, the watch commander pushed on the door and it slowly opened. The guards disappeared into the room and returned pushing a wheeled chair, to which Aizen had been meticulously bound. Tetsuya was somewhat disappointed that the man was barely visible beneath his bindings, but he flinched as Aizen's one unbound eye fixed on him for a moment, then moved on to look at the man Tetsuya had noticed before.

Tetsuya felt an odd sense of something about what he was seeing being wrong, then an arm wrapped around his slender waist, and the point of a blade touched his bare throat. Tetsuya froze as a smooth voice sounded in his ear.

"No one can see or hear you now, so screaming or misbehaving will only get you killed. I warn you...if you do not do exactly as I say, I will kill each and every man here, starting with you."

"Who are you?" Tetsuya asked breathlessly.

"It doesn't matter," said the voice, "Just do as you are told and you won't be hurt."

Tetsuya's captor backed him carefully away from the others, leaving a copy of him where he had been standing, and positioned him behind Aizen. The young noble felt a shock pass through his body and dropped to the floor as the one who had been holding him cut through Aizen's bonds. The former captain came slowly to his feet and turned to face the man.

"Arigato," he said smoothly, "Kyouka Suigetsu."

Tetsuya caught his breath sharply, staring as Aizen's eyes found his again.

"But it seems we have some loose ends," he commented, "Why did you include him?"

"He saw me," explained the zanpakutou, "I had no choice but to incapacitate him. Should I kill him?"

Aizen's brown eyes studied Tetsuya's collapsed and frozen form.

"No," he said finally, "He comes with us."

"Master?"

"He may be a loose end, but he will, perhaps, prove useful. Bring him."

Unable to move, Tetsuya was lifted and thrown over his captor's shoulder. Aizen accepted the two swords the zanpakutou handed him and lifted one, studying it quietly, then looking more carefully at Tetsuya.

"Interesting," Aizen said, "Kyouka Suigetsu, I want you to make them believe he collapsed...of an undiagnosed heart condition. He will die before help reaches him."

"What...?" gasped the noble.

"Do not worry," Aizen reassured him as Tetsuya watched the copy of himself fall to the floor, causing an instant reaction in the councilors and guards.

They wheeled the illusory copy of Aizen back into his cell and hastily locked the door, then called for healers. Councilor Yukimura leaned over the illusory copy of Tetsuya and examined him briefly, then shook his head sadly and brushed the young man's eyes closed.

"We won't need a healer," he said in a low, affected voice, "Send a messenger to Kuchiki Manor to inform Byakuya that his cousin has collapsed and died. We don't know why."

He turned to the guards.

"And after we leave, lock this area down until we determine why he died so suddenly. I want to know if it was a medical condition or if this was something else!"

"Why did you do that?" Tetsuya cried, trying in vain to make his body move, "Byakuya is going to think I'm dead!"

"Exactly," said Aizen, calmly, "And that distraction means that we will have more time to make our escape and get free of the Seireitei before anyone realizes I escaped."

"You won't get away!" Tetsuya hissed, "As soon as you enter the central senkaimon, you will be sensed and they will be after you!"

"A problem that we were struggling with until now," Aizen acknowledged, "However, as you are able to use your clan's senkaimon, we will be able to slip away as soon as we are out of the prison levels. And even if your clan checks their records after, senkaimon mechanics are not an exact science. They won't know exactly when I escaped, so they will just assume that you used the senkaimon shortly before your collapse and won't connect the incident to me at all. And be thankful for that. If I thought any among them would question it, I would kill you as soon as we entered the senkaimon. The cleaner would clean up the mess and leave no sign that you ever left Central 46 alive."

Tetsuya fell silent as Kyouka Suigetsu carried him and followed Aizen and the councilors out of the eighth level. He tried, as they moved upward, to loose himself from the strong kido that bound him, but found himself unable to move his limbs at all. The men in the group filed calmly out of the prison and back into the main building. Aizen smirked and motioned for Kyouka Suigetsu to wait as Tetsuya's illusory body was removed from the prison and taken to the prison mortuary for autopsy.

"You see," he told Tetsuya, "They have no idea. And they will continue to have no idea what I have done until it is far too late."

Tetsuya glared at him defiantly.

"You won't get away with this, Sousuke Aizen!" he cried, "I will find a way to stop you!"

Aizen watched in calm amusement as he continued to struggle, then frowned as Tetsuya shattered his bonds and tore free of the zanpakutou spirit. The young noble loosed a blast of kido and destroyed a small monument in the middle of the hallway. He turned to run and was halfway down the hall, when the doors opened ahead of him and Byakuya flash stepped into view. Aizen appeared ahead of Tetsuya and held his blade ready to attack the unsuspecting clan leader as Byakuya hastily inquired about his cousin.

"They don't see the damage to the monument yet," he said in a warning tone, "and I can kill Byakuya now, and he will lie on the ground for days before anyone sees he is there. Do not attempt to cause any more disruption, Tetsuya Kuchiki. It is not too late for me to change my mind and kill you."

Tetsuya didn't answer immediately, but only stared at Byakuya's devastated expression as Councilor Yukimura arrived and explained the details of Tetsuya's 'death.'

"Do not hurt anyone else," he said finally, "most especially not my cousin. I will cooperate with you."

"An intelligent choice," Aizen said, sheathing his blade.

He bound the noble's hands in front of him and sealed his powers away, then led him to the entry door. They waited until the doors opened to admit a councilor, then slipped out and crossed the long bridge. They passed through the final gate and moved into the heavily forested area nearby. Aizen took the second blade that Kyouka Suigetsu had given him and drew it. Tetsuya caught his breath as Aizen commanded the noble's blade to open the senkaimon. And as though it had been Tetsuya, himself who had given the command, the gate opened.

The noble shivered inwardly as Aizen watched Kyouka Suigetsu enter the senkaimon, then caught Tetsuya's bound hands and pulled him along. They stopped just inside as the doors closed, and Tetsuya's heart began to race as the traitor gazed down at his captive's blade. He turned his gaze on the young noble with a chillingly serene expression.

"You sensed it before, didn't you?" Aizen asked softly, "When I threatened Byakuya and the others...you knew I had no intention, even then, of letting you live. That is why you cooperated. You didn't want to risk additional lives, especially not Byakuya's. Very commendable. I was touched by your devotion to him. I am sorry to have to be the hand that separates you from him. But it is going to require a great deal of time to find a way to free myself from the hougyoku..."

"Free yourself?" Tetsuya managed in a trembling voice, "You mean that you..."

"I no longer wish to be bound to it. It abandoned me, and now I wish to abandon it. But it will be difficult to do, and I don't want to be distracted by pursuit, or by loose ends getting in the way. Don't worry, I will make your death swift. You won't even feel it."

Tetsuya's eyes went wide as his own blade rose, then fell towards him in slow motion. It stopped mid-fall as a ringing neigh sounded, and a heavy blast of ice blades rained down on Aizen and Kyouka Suigetsu.

"Arashi!" cried Tetsuya desperately, trying to pull away from Aizen as the escaped traitor blocked the incoming attack and tightened his grip on the noble.

"You command that horse?" Aizen asked.

Tetsuya merely glared at him in response and struggled, trying again to break free.

"I will spare your lives if you will convince him to carry us to Las Noches," Aizen said, fending off an incoming kido blast, "My powers are still sealed away and Kyouka Suigetsu has not regained his completely. It would take us much longer to reach the fortress without you. But you had best make him cooperate or I will have to kill you both right here!"

Despite his desperation, Tetsuya realized quickly that fighting the man was not going to help, and that he stood a better chance of escaping, the longer he lived. He nodded to the stallion.

"Arashi," he said quietly, "You will take us to Las Noches."

The horse's blue eyes flared, but he settled somewhat and calmed as Aizen nudged Tetsuya forward and the two mounted the stallion. Kyouka Suigetsu met Aizen's eyes for a moment, then faded.

"My zanpakutou will kill you immediately if you try anything," he warned Tetsuya, "And remember, you cannot kill me while the hougyoku is fused with me. You have no choice but to do as I say."

Aizen looked up as the sound of the cleaner rose up in the distance.

"Come now, let's be off."

Tetsuya met the traitor's brown eyes furiously for a moment, but then sighed in resignation and nudged the horse with his heels. He flinched as Aizen's arms wrapped around him.

"You are quite spirited," the brown-eyed shinigami observed quietly, "Both of you. I am rather glad I found a reason not to kill you, Tetsuya. I find you oddly interesting."

"I find you repulsive," Tetsuya said under his breath, bringing an amused smirk to Aizen's lips, "And I hope you die painfully."

"Spoken like a true member of the Kuchiki clan," the traitor said, shaking his head and tightening his arms around the noble.


	2. Naked Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen and Tetsuya get to know each other better...Tetsuya tests some boundaries.

"Stop him," Aizen said, startling Tetsuya out of the daze he had been in ever since they had crossed into Hueco Mundo.

Having been denied a place in the military and sheltered from danger by his protective cousin, he had barely ventured out of the manor alone, except to attend council meetings and acting as Byakuya's head of security. He had never been to the hollow world, and after being there for the first few minutes, and taking in the icy breezes. the constant presence of nearby hollows, and the wide expanses of darkness and sand, he knew he would be in no hurry to return.

"Why did we enter Hueco Mundo so far from the fortress?" Tetsuya asked, signaling Arashi to halt and turning his blue eyes onto his captor, "Certainly, the lord of the hollows would be able to appear in the fortress itself, ne?"

"Things will have changed quickly after my leaving, Tetsuya Kuchiki," Aizen said, looking off ahead of them, "The situation here is volatile. I discovered upon trying to enter, that many of the garganta have been sealed off. The one that leads nearest to the fortress was too well guarded, and had special sensors to detect shinigami presences. So, it is necessary to take a longer route."

"But if what you are saying is true," argued Tetsuya, watching as Aizen dismounted, then sliding to the ground, himself, "then we will still have to deal with the guards and strong hollows when we arrive at the fortress."

Aizen shook his head.

"I can get what I need without the guards ever knowing that I am there. Las Noches is not my destination, but a waypoint. I told you...ridding myself of the hougyoku is an arduous process."

Aizen caught Tetsuya's bound hands and led him forward to what looked like a very ordinary cave, but turned out to have a stairway at the back that spiraled down into an abandoned outpost. Tetsuya's eyes widened at the immense size of the underground facility. Aizen noticed his interest and gave him a brief smile.

"I had a number of these way stations built for the purpose of hiding the movement of our forces. The tunnels that used to connect many of these, appear to have been destroyed, but at least we can take advantage of the hot baths and comfortable beds. And it doesn't look like anyone has trifled with the place, so there may be food as well. Come, Tetsuya, let's make ourselves at home."

He led the young noble across to the baths and verified that the water was still filtered and hot, then turned and reached for the tie at Tetsuya's waist. The noble jumped back, his eyes wide, bringing a smirk to Aizen's lips.

"What's wrong?" he asked smoothly, "You aren't used to allowing your heavenly body to be seen by mere peasants? Do you not know how to bathe without a servant to help you?"

He wondered at the odd look that Tetsuya gave him in return.

"I bathed this morning," the noble said calmly.

"But who knows when you'll be able to bathe again after this?" Aizen mused, pulling on the tie and watching Tetsuya's hakama fall away, "and in any case, having been incarcerated as I was, I didn't have much to look at but the walls. It is refreshing to have something more attractive to look at."

He broke the kido on the noble's wrists and moved forward, sliding his top down, off of his shoulders and slowly baring him, as Tetusya shifted uncomfortably and averted his eyes.

"You have a very lovely body, Tetsuya Kuchiki," Aizen said, appreciatively, "I was right in calling it heavenly before. But then, you are the product of careful breeding, ne?"

"You think so?" Tetsuya said, that odd look returning to his eyes, "You know nothing about me, Sousuke Aizen."

"No?" said the former captain, watching Tetsuya carefully as he removed his own clothes, then motioned for the noble to enter the water, "You have all of the markers of the Kuchiki family, don't you? Long, wispy black hair, slender, but powerful build, small, delicate looking frame, upturned nose, large, luminous eyes...eyes that are practiced at looking down on people, ne? I have seen Byakuya do it, time and again. I doubt that his favored cousin would be able to resist."

"What makes you think I'm his favorite cousin?" asked Tetsuya, "I..."

"He looked distraught at hearing of your death," Aizen said, a look of curiosity coming to his face at the anguished look his words brought to Tetsuya's face.

"It was cruel to do that to him," Tetsuya said, lowering his eyes, "I don't understand why you hate us so much...without even knowing us."

"Don't you hate me?" Aizen asked, stepping into the large pool of hot water and leading Tetsuya across to where the water rained down from a number of overhead pipes.

"I hate what you've done," admitted the noble, stopping underneath the fall of water, "And I wonder what was done to you that made you like that...hurtful, vengeful, unfeeling...monstrous...soulless. It came from somewhere. No one is born with a dark soul, Sousuke Aizen."

"You don't think so?" asked Aizen, "Are you an optimistic person? Do you believe there is good in everyone? Even those old noblemen, who sit in those chairs above the ones they judge and cover their faces so that there is no backlash on them for the decisions they render...for the lives they take and ruin? For the innocent people they murder?"

"You mean Central 46?" asked Tetsuya.

Aizen moved forward, looking down into the noble's blue eyes and slipping a hand beneath his chin.

"You were going to become one of them," Aizen said, staring, "And what is strange...is that you actually have a conscience. You have a soul. I see it now. It makes me curious."

"I was?" Tetsuya repeated, peering into Aizen's depthless eyes and feeling another hard chill pass through him, "You speak of my future in the past tense, as though I will not live to see it. Should I take that to mean that I should expect you will kill me, even though you have promised otherwise?"

"I may decide not to kill you," Aizen said, stroking his cheek, "It depends on how well you hold my interest."

He leaned forward and brought his lips close to Tetsuya's, stopping a breath away as the noble tuned his head and tried to back away.

"What's wrong?" Aizen asked, "Don't you think I'm less likely to kill you if you feign interest in me? You should kiss me...try to engage me sexually."

Tetsuya stepped back again, but stopped as he encountered a rock wall behind him.

"I know that nobles, as a rule, are not used to being seduced by peasants, but as one whose life is in peril, you should certainly consider all possible ways of enticing me into letting you live."

Tetsuya flinched as the other man's hands captured him and held him in place and Aizen's mouth fastened on his. He felt intense pain blossom up from deep inside him and stiffened in Aizen's grasp.

_Oh no...it's..._

He screamed in pain and started to collapse as Aizen gazed at him in surprise and released him. The back of his head struck the wall and he dropped like a stone into the water, at Aizen's feet, succumbing almost instantly to blackness.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Tetsuya woke to an all too familiar ice coldness that penetrated his skin and sank deep down inside. His small, thin body shifted and curled beneath the ragged blanket, trying in vain to create a pocket of warmth. He shivered incessantly, but knew better than to complain or to ask for another blanket. He tried to ignore the discomfort and listened to the night guard's footsteps as the man walked up and down the rows of cells, yawning now and then and looking bored._

_"Tetsuya," breathed another boy's voice, too softly for the guard to hear._

_"Naoki," Tetsuya mouthed back, smiling as the other boy's hand found his through the bars that separated their cells._

_They moved as close together as they could, though the bars impeded them, and although he wasn't sure if it was real or imagined, he seemed to feel warmer. His shivering stopped and his hand warmed in the other boy's._

_"I heard that he was watching the prison again," Naoki told him, "And this time, there were others."_

_"I heard that too," answered Tetsuya, "Do you think he will come for us soon?"_

_"Everyone thinks so," said the other boy, "so we should be ready. You know that if they know he is coming, they will try to kill us before he gets here. We have to be ready to fight them."_

_"We will be," Tetsuya said, squeezing Naoki's hand._

_They fell silent and held perfectly still as the guard walked past and shined his flashlight into Tetsuya's cell, lingering on them for a moment, before moving down to the end of the cellblock to meet his replacement._

_"Is everything quiet?" the relief guard asked._

_"Yeah, but there's a lot of tension around here. Better be on your guard tonight."_

_"Sure."_

_"Oh, and just so you know, the one on the end there is going to be taken in tonight. They say he's old enough for the procedure."_

_The two abruptly stopped talking as a door opened and a gray-haired man entered the cellblock._

_"Hey, Doc," said one of the men._

_"Hmmm," said the man, nodding as he went by them._

_He walked down the row of cells and stopped at Tetsuya's. The relief guard moved forward and unlocked the cell, then the older man walked inside. Tetsuya sat up and pressed his back against the bars, his hand holding on tightly to Naoki's and his blue eyes wide and afraid._

_"There now," said the old man, "Nothing to be afraid of, boy. All of them have this done. It's orders and we can't avoid it. Come along quietly and don't wake up the others. Don't worry. You'll be back by morning."_

_Tetsuya shivered as the man took his hand and pulled him to his feet. His hand slipped out of Naoki's and he could barely make his feet move as the old man led him out of his cell and past the guards. As they left the cellblock, Tetsuya caught a glimpse of Naoki, watching through the bars of his cell and crying silently._

_The old man led him into one of the rooms that was used for healing, when a prisoner was injured or sick. He motioned for Tetsuya to climb up onto the examination table, then lowered him onto his back. Tetsuya looked up at him with damp, frightened eyes as the man slipped a mask over his face._

_"Take a few breaths," the man said, "Don't worry. It will just make you sleep for a bit."_

_He shivered harder and a tear ran down his cheek, but he gritted his teeth and breathed in once...twice..._

_His mind went into a gentle spin and the room and man disappeared into the darkness. He drifted, unaware, for how long, he wasn't sure. When he woke again, he had been returned to his cell, and placed where he had been lying before. A second blanket had been placed over him and Naoki's hand was stroking his gently in the darkness._

_"What did they do to me?" Tetsuya asked softly._

_"I don't know what it is," Naoki replied, touching his face, "but they do it to everyone. It's part of how they control us."_

_The boy's fingers continued to touch Tetsuya's face and hair lightly as he drifted off again. He started to smile as Naoki's lips brushed against his in the darkness, but suddenly, pain welled up from somewhere deep inside, making him gasp and pull away. Naoki stared at him in surprise._

_"What is it?" he whispered, "Tetsuya, what's wrong?"_

_"I don't know!" he answered, "N-naoki...it...it hurts!"_

XXXXXXXXXX

Tetsuya began to regain awareness and was grateful to feel the soft movement of inhale and exhale that told him that he was still alive. He kept his eyes closed and used his other senses to determine that he had been dressed in a yukata and was lying on his back in a warm, comfortable bed. He sensed that Aizen was nearby, but not in the same room.

He breathed a sigh of relief at being away from the traitorous former captain. It was both terrifying and exhausting having to constantly wonder when the man would tire of him and kill him. It seemed inevitable that he would make the attempt. But although Tetsuya had been shocked into defenselessness before, he was resilient enough to respond to the situation by using everything he had learned, to try to save his own life.

He sat up in the bed and let his eyes adjust, rubbing the back of his head, where he had injured it. His eyes roamed slowly around the room, and found it to be large and comfortably furnished. A tray sat by the bed, bearing tea that was still somewhat warm. He dared not drink it, but slipped out of bed and moved to the door of the bedroom. He was less than surprised to find it was locked, and had been sealed with a kido spell. The noble tightened his lips and looked carefully around the room again.

_This is a military stopping point, used during a time of war. And this has to be the officers' section. They would have made an escape route, in case the camp was attacked. Aizen said that the tunnels to the other outposts had been destroyed, but maybe some access points are still passable._

He followed the length of the wall, closing his eyes and feeling with his more sensitive fingertips. Halfway across the room, he found a tiny break in the wall.

_The release will be within reach, standing in front of it..._

He explored the surrounding rock, then the small table to his left. He finally found a pressure switch set in the rock. He touched it, then gritted his teeth as the door slid back, making a soft, but pronounced grinding noise. He passed through quickly and closed the door behind him.

_Of course, he knows about these passages. I'm surprised he left this one unsealed. But he may not have figured on me being experienced enough to 'A' know it was there, and 'B' be able to find it. He may also have thought it would make too much noise for me to use it to escape. I didn't hear footsteps, but then, this is Aizen we are talking about._

The passageway was dark, but small glowing guide markers had been placed along the back wall. He followed the corridor on a slightly upward slope and found an exit point that let him out into the chamber where he and Aizen had entered the outpost. He sensed Aizen back in the bedrooms, but still employed caution as he returned to the stairway and climbed up into the entry cave. He listened carefully, but heard no sounds of pursuit. Relaxing slightly, he spotted Arashi dozing near the cave and started towards him.

"Arashi," he said softly, in greeting.

The stallion's head turned and the horse's eyes fixed on him for a moment, then flared angrily. He stamped his foot warningly, and Tetsuya stopped short. He froze as Aizen walked calmly up from behind him, then past him. The stallion nickered and tossed his head as Aizen reached him and patted him gently.

"What did you do to him?" Tetsuya asked, staring.

Aizen smiled.

"I need Arashi to reach Las Noches more quickly," Aizen explained, "It would have been an annoyance to have you two disappear, if you managed to find a way out here, so I had Kyouka Suigetsu use his powers to make Arashi see you when he looks at me, and me when he looks at you. His senses are completely fooled."

Tetsuya frowned.

"But...if you could do that, then you don't really need me at all. So...why am I still alive?" he asked.

"Perhaps I plan to honor our agreement," Aizen said quietly.

He paused for a moment, his eyes boring down into Tetsuya's.

"Or perhaps, I perceived that the connection between the two of you is more than sensual, and that your death might take him with it."

Tetsuya caught his breath in surprise.

"You want to know what gave that away, right?" Aizen went on, "He is one of the spirit steeds, who are protected by your clan. His eyes are the same, sapphire color as yours, and when we were riding him, you gave him almost no visible cues. You are emotionally connected. It is a truly interesting bond that you share. I hope to explore it in more detail as we continue our journey. But we really should get some more rest. That concussion you gave yourself trying to avoid my amorous intentions is likely to be a problem if you do not take care of yourself. Come."

Tetsuya hesitated for a moment, stealing a long look at Arashi and feeling an ache inside at the guarded look he received in return. Then, he followed his captor back into the outpost and into the officers' quarters. He started to turn towards the room he had been in before, but Aizen's hand touched his arm and guided him to another. And instead of leaving him, the former captain followed him inside and closed the door.

"Remove your clothes," Aizen said, fixing his eyes on the noble.

"What?"

"You tried to escape," Aizen explained, "I mean to provide a bit of punishment, and a deterrent to future escape attempts. Take off your clothes."

Aizen watched closely as the young man undressed, then he undressed himself and stood facing Tetsuya.

"Lie down."

Tetsuya saw no point in resisting, so he climbed into the bed and watched quietly as Aizen placed their clothing in a closet and sealed the door.

"It is freezing outside. I wouldn't suggest wandering off," Aizen said, climbing into the bed, "Lie down."

Tetsuya dropped down onto his back, shivering as Aizen's naked arm brushed against him. Aizen studied him for a moment, then turned him to face away and wrapped his body around the noble's.

"Are you comfortable?" Aizen asked, turning off the light.

"I can't sleep with a poisonous snake wrapped around me," Tetsuya said, frowning and trying not to shiver.

"Ah...of course," said Aizen in a tranquil tone, "How thoughtless of me."

"B-bastard!" Tetsuya managed, as a soft jolt of kido sent him plunging back into darkness.

Aizen gave a contented sigh, enjoying feeling the closeness of another living soul, after being alone with no one but the sealed hougyoku and the hateful, and sometimes savage guards. Tetsuya's body was deliciously warm...soft, and lightly scented with sakura. And even as disturbed as his reiatsu felt, it had a sweetness to it that suggested innocence...something that Sousuke Aizen had left behind a long time ago. Something inside him warned him not to let himself become attached. But he had never attached so strongly as to not be able to kill anyone who he chose to. It would be the same with this shinigami. He would enjoy Tetsuya's refreshing presence for as long as he desired it.

And when the noble lost his usefulness, he would kill him.


	3. The Proposal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tetsuya answers questions about his past that lead to Aizen making a rather indecent proposal...

"You look weary," commented Aizen as he released Tetsuya and climbed out of bed, "You need to learn to relax more. You will sleep better."

"How can one be expected to sleep soundly in the arms of a killer? I don't know when I close my eyes, if I will open them again. Do you really expect I will sleep well under such conditions?"

Aizen smiled and walked back to the bed, holding a towel in his hand. Tetsuya flinched as the other man ran the towel down his back, wiping away the sticky mess there.

"My apologies," said Aizen silkenly, "I haven't slept naked with anyone as lovely as you before. I appear to have been dreaming of..."

"I am well aware of what you dreaming. You were talking in your sleep," the noble said in a low, disgusted voice, "In addition to other things."

Aizen smiled.

"Perhaps," he said in a tone that instantly unnerved the noble, "Or perhaps I was just teasing you to see what you would do."

Tetsuya's eyes flared and his lips tightened, but he didn't answer.

"And to answer your question from before, let me ask you, how did you sleep before I abducted you?"

"What?" Tetsuya said in a flustered tone.

"Well, we are never guaranteed another moment. To say that the constant threat of death is the reason for your discomfort is rather silly, ne? Considering that any moment could always be your last..."

"That is true enough," said Tetsuya, accepting his clothes from the former captain, "However, most people do not live with the hand of death inches from their throat, and constant reminders of their impending death."

"I could still decide to let you go," said Aizen, "After all, you have been useful."

"Momo was useful too, ne?" said Tetsuya, "She is a friend of mine, you know. I saw what you did to her...how you toyed with her, how you twisted her mind in knots and then broke her heart. Do you enjoy tearing people apart and destroying them just for your amusement?"

Aizen shook his head and sighed.

"I was kind to Momo. I needed her to keep up appearances, and when I was done with her, I struck her down suddenly, so that she would not suffer. The only cruelty was that I didn't succeed in killing her...and she subsequently fell apart because she survived. Is that the fate you want, Tetsuya Kuchiki?"

Tetsuya tried to conceal the shiver that went through his body.

"I have my eyes open," he said softly, "My heart will neither be fooled by you, nor broken by you. I know who you are."

"Yes," said Aizen, smiling up at Tetsuya as he watched the noble dress, "I am naked before you. I will never claim to be anything but what you see."

"But you can manipulate what I see," said the noble pointedly.

"Touché," said Aizen, standing up and dressing slowly as Tetsuya averted his eyes.

He led the noble out of the officers' quarters and down the hallway, to the commissary, where he gathered some stores to take on their journey, then cooked a large meal, while Tetsuya made tea. They sat down at one of the tables, and Aizen ate heartily. He looked up and noticed that Tetsuya had eaten nothing, but had only sipped at the tea he made.

"You need to eat," the former captain said, indicating the plate of food in front of the noble, "I don't want you choosing a poor time to collapse from the combination of your anxiety, lack of sleep and malnutrition. Come now, you know I won't kill you before we reach Las Noches. But you will drop dead from abusing yourself if you continue this destructive behavior."

"A shinigami deprived of his powers can go on indefinitely without eating," Tetsuya said quietly, "In fact, shinigami prisons didn't used to feed their prisoners at all. It was considered a waste because many incarcerated souls were never to be released anyway. So...the ones within the cells would slowly thin and weaken, but they would not die until their keepers willed it."

"Ah...I should have expected a book learned person like you to know such things. You were, after all, to be made a councilor."

Tetsuya gave him an enigmatic look.

"Things learned from books are useful," he replied, "but things experienced in body live inside a person all of his life."

"Huh..." Aizen mused, "I doubt that one like you has ever set foot in a prison before the day we met."

Tetsuya looked back at him silently.

"Then...if you were a prisoner," said Aizen, "What was your crime, Tetsuya? Walking out of step with your cousin? Thinking independently?"

"I was born inside the walls of Itamigiri."

"Itamigiri?" Aizen said, frowning, "The...?"

"Half-breed's prison," Tetsuya finished, "My 'crime' was being born half noble. My father was a member of the Kuchiki clan and my mother was from the mid-Rukongai. I was the only recorded birth within the prison...although that was because they usually caused pregnant women to miscarry. And if they delivered, their babies usually died of 'birth related complications.' They tried to drown me when I was born. They thought they had, but my zanpakutou does not allow for me to drown in water. They put my seemingly lifeless body in my mother's arms, and I woke. Once she saw me, they felt they did not want to be so obvious, so I was allowed to live. I was a prisoner until I was twelve years old, and was one of the few who survived when Byakuya's group stormed the prison and freed everyone who the guards did not kill, when they sensed the invasion."

Aizen gazed at him curiously.

"You were not misleading me when you said that I did not know you at all. It seems I misjudged you, Tetsuya Kuchiki. But...this does explain something odd that happened."

Tetsuya looked back at him questioningly.

"When you lost consciousness, I simply left you in the water. I came back later and removed your body, only to find that as soon as you were out of the water, you began breathing again. Interesting..."

"You were going to just let me die?" Tetsuya asked softly.

"Well," said Aizen, "Drowning while already unconscious is not a violent thing, ne? It is not like I held you under, or there was a struggle. I may kill, but I do not do so for the sake of killing. And when I strike, I strike quickly, so that there is less pain."

"Should I be impressed? Comforted?" asked the noble, "Because, I am not. You make me sick, Sousuke Aizen. I wish I had never laid eyes on you."

Aizen sighed softly.

"I am beginning to wish the same about you, Tetsuya."

The noble frowned.

"Why? I thought you said that I was useful."

Aizen's brown eyes grew contemplative.

"You are useful. You assisted me in leaving the Seireitei without pursuit, and you have provided me with a mode of transportation to reach Las Noches. However, you have also begun to distract me. You see, if you were the noble brat I expected, then I would have discarded you by now. But you are not what I expected. Not at all."

He took several bites of food and a sip of his tea, then looked back up at the noble again.

"Tell me something," he said, eyeing Tetsuya closely, "What was a half-breed out of Itamigiri doing interning in Central 46? One would think that you would feel uncomfortable among the very traditional noble leaders who supported the prison that held you."

Tetsuya let out a long breath and lowered his eyes.

"After my liberation from the prison, Byakuya convinced his grandfather to allow me to be raised at the manor. He saw to my training and assisted me in connecting with my zanpakutou. He helped me to stop acting like a prisoner and a servant, and to stand up for myself. And when I was older, he encouraged me to walk a path that would bring me some peace, by working to ease the discord between half-breeds like me and full nobles. Together, Byakuya and I gathered information and evidence about the horrors of the prison...things that many of my full-noble peers had no idea were happening. Faced with the truth about it...and my presence as a former inmate, our council unanimously outlawed the imprisonment of half-breeds without due process, and they elevated us to full membership in the clan. It took quite some time, but what we did, spread to other clans. Not everyone was convinced, of course. But many were. The Kuchiki elders were so impressed with what we were able to accomplish, that they invited me to join the council...something unheard of until that time. I also acted as head of security and my cousin's personal bodyguard. I could not go into the military, because I was a council member, so Byakuya recommended me to Councilor Yukimura of Central 46, and he hired me as an intern."

Tetsuya's eyes darkened and closed for a moment.

"It was another unprecedented victory, not just for me, but for others like me. Because if I could win my way from a tiny freezing cell to a council seat, then there might just be change for the better for half-breeds and peasants alike."

He fell silent and sipped at his tea, his eyes sad.

"Hmmm," Aizen said solemnly, "You should thank me for stopping you."

Tetsuya looked up at him in askance.

"They would have deprived you of your soul, Tetsuya," the traitor said, shaking his head, "They would have held you up as an example of progress, ne? But how long would it have lasted? And with only you there, how would their decisions have changed, really? And in the end, would anyone have followed in your footsteps?"

"Someone had to step forward and do something, Sousuke," Tetsuya insisted, "I only meant to get things started. There was more than what just one person could do. But a task gets smaller with each small step a person takes."

"Ah...much like what I said when I slaughtered the former councilors before I left," Aizen countered, "So...who do you think made a bigger difference?"

"You think you made an improvement by murdering the entire council?" asked Tetsuya, disdainfully, "All you did was make them fearful of revenge and less trusting of peasants and half-breeds!"

"Well, at least they learned to use some caution in their dealings with us," Aizen argued, "You said that someone had to do something. I did something. And after what those bastards..."

He broke of and stood suddenly.

"Well, enough time wasting," he said hastily, "Come, Tetsuya. You will probably regret not eating...especially because we likely won't see a hot meal until we reach Las Noches. But we have wasted enough time here."

Tetsuya rose and took the pack that Aizen handed him, then followed the other man back to where Arashi waited. Tetsuya climbed onto the stallion's back, then waited as Aizen mounted behind him and wrapped his arms around the noble's waist. Aizen turned the stallion in the direction of Las Noches and they set off at a gentle trot through the desert.

Tetsuya sat quietly, mulling over what he had seen at the end of his conversation with Aizen.

_He started to say something about himself...something that had bearing on his reasons for striking at the council. I suspected that his behavior had to come from somewhere. It doesn't excuse what he did, but it could make it more comprehensible. No one really knows what made him rebel. They assume that he is power hungry, but he hasn't said anything about wanting more power. He is very hard to read. But if I want to live, I must come to understand him well enough to deceive him, to escape him, or to, after the hougyoku is gone, kill him before he kills me._

"What are you thinking, Tetsuya Kuchiki?" Aizen said into his ear, startling him.

Arashi tossed his head and took several nervous, dancing steps, then quieted again.

"You look troubled."

"I am not accustomed to being so far from Byakuya. I miss my cousin. I wish that I could see him again..."

"Hmmm," said Aizen, studying the noble's half-turned face, "I never thought to ask you this, but were you and Byakuya very close? Were you intimate with each other?"

Tetsuya shook his head.

"Have you ever had a sexual partner, Tetsuya?" asked Aizen.

"No," answered the noble, looking off into the distance, "And it appears that I never will."

"Oh, certainly, I can do you the favor of letting you experience the full beauty of your sexuality," Aizen offered.

"I am afraid that sex holds no interest for me," said the noble, trying not to blush at his own words, "All that love would bring me is pain."

Aizen regarded him curiously.

"This from the man who fought back against the prejudices of the noble class and won over the Kuchiki council and the illustrious Councilor Yukimura? Really? I am surprised."

"I meant 'pain' in a physical sense," Tetsuya explained, not sure what was giving him the nerve to say the words out loud, "While I was a prisoner in Itamigiri, a procedure was performed on me that made me unable to bear sexual contact."

"What?" said Aizen, looking genuinely shocked.

"I cannot experience sexual pleasure. I was subjected to a procedure that caused my body to register pain when I am touched sexually."

"So...you weren't simply rejecting my advances before," mused the former captain, "That kiss caused you pain..."

"Yes."

Aizen was silent for a long moment, then his arms tightened around Tetsuya.

"Those councilors I killed...I should have killed them more painfully," he said finally.

They didn't make the rules at the prison," said Tetsuya, "And they probably didn't know all of what we endured."

"But they made policy that allowed those atrocities to happen to you."

He gave the noble a brief smile.

"No one should be denied the breathtaking experience of reaching orgasm, Tetsuya."

Tetsuya blushed and turned his face away.

"I could perhaps help you, you know," Aizen offered silkenly.

Tetsuya returned his smile.

"I would rather die," he said softly.

Aizen smirked.

"Whether I kill you or not, you are going to die eventually. Why not enrich the time that you have left by doing something truly celestial?"

"Please leave me alone."

"I can't let you die a virgin."

"Yes...you can. And I won't consider you heartless for doing so. In any case, I wonder if you are really so interested in me experiencing pleasure, or if you would just take pleasure in causing me pain while you satisfy yourself..."

"You cut me to the quick, Tetsuya."

"You deserve it."

Aizen's smile widened.

"Much of the time, yes...I do."

Aizen went quiet as Arashi paused and made a low sound of warning.

"What have we here?" mused Aizen, "An arrancar...a powerful one."

He glanced at Tetsuya and thought for a moment.

"Have you ever killed a hollow with that blade of yours?" he asked.

"Of course," Tetsuya said, frowning, "On occasion, they would break into the manor..."

"A powerful one like that?"

"Well...no."

"But I sensed your power. You are strong enough."

"You want me to fight that hollow?" the noble asked, blinking.

"I can only use low level kido," said Aizen, "And I prefer to keep a low profile for now, so I would rather not involve my manifested zanpakutou."

"So...you think I'm going to fight for you? Are you mad? I want them to kill you!"

"May I remind you that I am not in danger of dying here? You are. So, go and fight him."

Aizen released the seal on the noble's powers and handed him his blade. He stopped Arashi and nudged the noble off his back.

Tetsuya glared up at the former captain for a moment, then his hand tightened around the hilt of his weapon and he turned and flash stepped away.

"This should be fascinating," Aizen whispered, "Show me what you are made of, Tetsuya Kuchiki."


	4. The Proving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tetsuya faces a powerful Arrancar.

Tetsuya slowed as he approached the Arrancar, studying her tall, catlike body, sharp claws and dangerous looking fangs. He could see at once that she would be a wickedly fast opponent, and he knew that her more humanoid shape meant that she would also fight smarter. Her glowing red eyes looked back at him from beneath her thin, sculpted mask as he approached, and her bright lips smiled.

"Are you lost, shinigami?" she asked in a low, purring voice.

Tetsuya held his blade ready and met her eyes calmly.

"I am merely passing through," he told her calmly, "I have no intention of attacking you, but only wish to pass peacefully."

The hollow's smile widened, further exposing her fangs.

"If by 'pass,' you mean that you have come here to die, then drop your weapon and I will kill you quickly and cleanly, but this is the land of the hollows, and shinigamis are not welcome here."

Tetsuya continued to carefully watch the hollow's eyes and read her movements, watching for a sign that she was going to attack.

"I understand I am not welcome, but it does not mean that you must bear responsibility for impeding me. I did not ask for your friendship, hollow, only that you step out of my path and allow me to be on my way."

"Ah, but I do have a responsibility," said the hollow, "I am a hollow. And we are in my home world. And the rule of Hueco Mundo is that the stronger and more intelligent creatures will live and the dumber, weaker ones will die. You can already sense that I am more powerful than you, shinigami, and you are about to learn that I am smarter than you as well!"

Tetsuya sensed the coil in the catlike hollow's body, and flash stepped as she sprang. He sent his blade into shikai without a word and watched as a fog rose around them. The hollow slid to a stop, eyeing the mist and looking back at Tetsuya malevolently.

"You move quickly, shinigami," she said, narrowing her eyes.

"My name is Tetsuya Kuchiki," he said quietly, watching her carefully.

"I am Elena," said the hollow, readying herself to spring at him again.

"Your name means 'torch,' said Tetsuya, "Does that have a connection to your resurreccion?"

"It might," said the hollow, showing her teeth again, "But you will not know until you prove yourself worthy of seeing it. Enough talk now...fight!"

She sprang at him so quickly that her slashing claw caught his sleeve as he flash stepped. She took advantage of the small change in his timing to swiftly slash again and left a cut on his cheek. Tetsuya blocked the next several, lightning fast strikes, while setting several waterforms in place around the area they were fighting in. Then, with careful cuts and precision steps, he moved her in the direction of one of the set waterforms. The moment she stepped into range of one of the waterforms, Tetsuya left an opening for her to strike and shifted to one of the waterforms. The hollow's claw slashed across his body, and Elena watched with surprised eyes as his slashed body broke apart and became water that splashed onto the sand. She sensed him behind her and turned, slashing and hissing. Tetsuya's blade crashed against her powerful claws and he flash stepped away again. The two slid to a stop, facing each other.

"What was that you did?" asked the hollow, frowning, "Was that your shikai?"

Tetsuya nodded.

"In part," he answered, turning to keep her within his sights as she cautiously circled him, "Re-kuhime is a water-based zanpakutou. When sent into shikai, she creates a fog over the fighting grounds. Within that area, I can set a number of nearly invisible waterforms, and as I fight, I can move from one to the next to escape your attacks or to create an opening to attack, faster than if I used my flash step."

He shifted to a set waterform as Elena attacked suddenly. The body she struck, disintegrated as before, but this time, drifted to the ground like small flakes of snow.

"With every waterform you destroy, the fighting area becomes colder, and the waterforms begin to form snow crystals. These crystals accumulate on your weapon, in this case, your claws, weighing them down and making your attacks and defense moves slower."

He shifted to another waterform and slashed at her again. The hollow disappeared and reappeared a short distance away, staring down at her whitening claws.

"What is this? You bastard!"

She swept forward and moved into a series of vicious slashes and strikes, destroying several waterforms, then slashing again so quickly that he could not shift fast enough to avoid her. Her claws slashed his chest and shoulder, and Tetsuya flash stepped clear, wobbling unsteadily for a moment. The hollow smiled.

"Ah," she said, slyly, "A weakness?"

Tetsuya put a hand to his bleeding shoulder and gazed at her silently, panting softly and anticipating her next move.

"Let me see if I understand," she said, eyeing him closely, "If I am fast enough to cut you twice before you shift, then you take damage. Is that it?"

She disappeared and reappeared, slashing even faster than she had before.

"I was holding back before," she said, slashing his side as he turned, "but now that I know your weakness, this is child's play!"

"Perhaps," said Tetsuya, holding on to his composure and blocking several heavy slashes, "But remember that you are still destroying my waterforms, and your claws are being coated in snow."

He read an opening and slashed the hollow's arm, making her howl with fury and attack harder. But the frost on his claws slowed her attacks, and eventually dulled her claws to near uselessness. Tetsuya went on the offensive, abandoning his shikai and attacking swiftly, making several cuts to her body before she used her sonido to distance herself. She stopped and glared at him.

"So, you have compensated for our difference in power," she snarled, baring her fangs, "But even though you can slow my attacks this way and create openings, what will you do when your ice will no longer form on me?"

She drew a slender blade and held it out in front of her.

"Gato del Infierno," she said, making the blade flare softly, "My resurreccion is fire-based, a perfect counter to your water-based zanpakutou. While in my fire cat form, your snow will melt too quickly to slow me or to blunt my claws."

Tetsuya caught his breath softly as her blade grew brighter.

"Quemar," the hollow said, running her hand down the blade, "Gato del Infierno!"

Red light exploded around the hollow, and she dropped down onto hands and knees, transforming, as she did, to a huge cat form. Her fur was a blazing mix of red and orange, and as Tetsuya flash stepped forward and attacked, fire burst from her body and burned down the length of his sword. With a sharp, pained cry, Tetsuya flash stepped clear and dropped to one knee, panting more heavily and favoring his burned sword hand. Across from him, Elena gave a hissing laugh.

"Do you understand my name now, Tetsuya Kuchiki?" she asked mockingly, "When you strike this form with your blade, it burns your zanpakutou and your body, making close contact unfavorable to you. But if you thought I was fast before, I am even faster now, so don't think you can avoid me with your pitifully slow flash step!"

Tetsuya forced himself to remain calm, and quickly flash stepped out of her path, then continued to flash step furiously, while raising his hands and releasing a flurry of kido blasts.

"Hado #31, Shakkahou!"

The hollow laughed harder, and Tetsuya watched in dismay as the fire cat's body devoured his kido attack.

"I am a being of fire," she said, stalking him, "You only make me stronger when you strike me with fire. Face the facts, shinigami, you cannot match me. There is nothing you can do. Even running away is not an option. Prepare yourself. You are going to die."

Tetsuya stepped back and raised his blade again. Elena hissed.

"I told you..."

"Ban kai," said Tetsuya, making the hair rise on the back of the hollow's neck, "Koori no Bakuha, Re-kuhime!"

"So," the hollow sneered, "The shinigami has a ban kai? It is still water-based. If it is snow, I will melt it...and if it is water I will evaporate it! Go ahead and try. You are only going to die, Tetsuya Kuchiki!"

"Nawaka shima," said Tetsuya, his sword ready.

The hollow watched as Tetsuya's blade glowed a pure white and loosed and blast of sharp ice blades. Fire flared around her body as she nimbly evaded many of the blades, and melted more. She leaped at Tetsuya, but was stopped as a wall of ice formed between them. She screamed furiously and the fire around her body flared, melting the ice wall. But as the ice melted, it began to turn and spin onibously, growing before the hollow's stunned eyes into a massive funnel.

Elena screeched and swiftly retreated, flaring as the cyclone struck her, so that the water evaporated into steam and ash. She peered through the haze that was created, looking for the shinigami. She barely managed to evade his blade as he attacked, but slashed across his back as he flash stepped away again.

"Nice try," she complimented him, "And I have to say that you have impressive power. But you are still not powerful enough to defeat me, shinigami!"

"Is that right?" Tetsuya said, sending another barrage of ice blades, and raising the ice wall again.

As before, the fire cat flared, weakening his attack and melting the ice wall. And again, Tetsuya emerged, sending a cyclone of water, which the hollow evaporated. The haze around them grew thicker, and the hollow crouched, close to the ground, stalking Tetsuya. She spotted his silhouette and leapt at him, slashing and flaring. But his body disintegrated into water and splashed to the ground.

"Do you understand now?" Tetsuya asked calmly, "You are, I admit, both stronger and more experienced than me. I have never fought an enemy as strong as you. But I have trained constantly with a man who is a taichou of the Gotei 13, and he taught me that it is not important to be the strongest, but to remain calm and think quickly as you fight. All of this time, you have had the advantage, and you were, at first, overpowering me. But...as we have fought, the haze on the field has thickened. I have set many waterforms, so you do not know from where I will strike. And you allowed me to put my blade into ban kai, and to activate her special attack...nawaka shima. You may continue to stalk me, but you cannot hope to defeat me. For even if you find me, my blade needs only to sink beneath your skin and this fight will be over."

"So sure of yourself..." snapped Elena, attacking, and destroying another waterform.

Her fire swelled around her, and she swept around the fighting area, flaring and evaporating Tetsuya's waterforms until none remained. She closed in on Tetsuya, expecting that he would move, but catching her breath as he remained where he was, allowing her to sink her claws into him and tear at his shoulder with her sharp teeth. She stopped, staring into Tetsuya's blue eyes as pain bloomed inside her and the fires that burned in her body hissed softly and faded. She tried to move, but made a soft, surprised sound as she realized that Tetsuya's blade had fused with her body, and the ice on the surface was slowly causing her body to freeze from the inside out.

"Nawaka shima," Tetsuya breathed softly, "When my blade enters the body of my opponent in this state, it causes the body to freeze and turn to ice."

He watched quietly as the fire cat's body froze over, and the hollow's glowing eyes faded. Still looking into the hollow's hate filled expression, the noble's lips parted in a final, devastating word.

"Kudakero..."

The hollow's frozen body shattered and fell to the ground at his feet. Tetsuya gazed down at the fallen bits of ice, that had taken on the look of broken glass. He scented his own blood, and felt dizziness sweep through him. Turning back towards where Aizen waited, he took only a few steps before collapsing. He laid on the cold sand, bits of it flying on the wind and stinging his bleeding wounds. Arashi's step sounded nearby, and a moment later, Aizen leaned over him, studying the fallen shinagami with curious eyes.

"You are calm and methodical in your approach to your opponent," he said quietly, "Much like Byakuya, you carefully watch and constantly assess your opponent's abilities, and adjust your strategy accordingly. You are swift and sure footed, though lighter and not so solid in your stances. Your blade has a more tenacious edge than Byakuya's and you run slightly on the impetuous side at times. But you have respectable power."

"You knew that hollow was stronger than me," Tetsuya said softly, his breath misting on the chilled air, "You set me up to die."

"Is that what you think?" asked Aizen, brushing the blood from his lips and gazing deeply into his eyes, "Would you think that was a better way of dying then? Honorably? In battle? With your reiatsu blazing around you?"

"Is that better than being stricken down for no better reason than you not being able to find a use for me? Yes. It is a better way."

He inhaled sharply, loosing a soft sound of pain as his eyes dimmed and his consciousness started to fade. He sought Aizen's eyes and held them as a question rose, unbidden and escaped him.

"Are you going to let me die then? Here? Now?"

Aizen watched as Tetsuya's eyes fluttered gently and closed. He thought intently for a moment, then carefully lifted the injured shinigami and set him on Arashi's back. He led the stallion into a cluster of rocks and took shelter in a cave overlooking the lonely valley where Tetsuya had fought the Arrancar.

He laid Tetsuya on the cave floor and undressed him, then set about carefully healing his wounds. As he worked he stole glances at the blue-eyed shinigami's comely face and slender, lovely body...a body that seemed oddly beautiful splashed with blood and smudged with soot and dust.

"If you had been too weak, or had not fought your hardest," Aizen said softly, "I would have let you die that way. Fortunately for me, though perhaps unfortunately for you, you proved strong enough. It will be a dangerous path from Las Noches to where the hougyoku can be destroyed...and the strength you showed is the kind of strength you would need to survive such a journey. You may come to wish you had died here. But by proving your strength, you have made yourself more useful to me. I am afraid you will have to bear my company for a bit longer, Tetsuya. Still, there may be something I can do to show my gratitude."

He closed his eyes for a moment.

Kyouka Suigetsu.

The zanpakutou flared softly, and his manifested form appeared and looked down at Aizen, where he knelt next to Tetsuya.

"This shinigami has been made to feel pain when he is stimulated sexually. I want you to use your powers to cause him to feel pleasure instead of pain."

The zanpakutou stepped forward, but was stopped as Aizen's hand touched his arm.

"But," he added, "This effect is only to occur...when it is me who touches him."

"As you wish, Master."

Aizen's lips smiled as he leaned over Tetsuya again, taking his time and addressing each injury until the noble's body had been fully restored. He yawned sleepily, blinking as he looked down at Tetsuya's naked, sleeping form. He undressed and laid down next to the unconscious noble, wrapping them in warm blankets and curling his body around Tetsuya's.

"It will be interesting," he whispered into the shell of one pale ear, "to see how you react when you discover it. I admit to being infatuated, Tetsuya. You are quite a lovely diversion."

He wrapped an arm around the noble's waist, letting his hand slide over Tetsuya's slim abdomen and down between his thighs. He gently stimulated the noble's soft, warm genitals, and grew a sly smile as Tetsuya's length hardened under his fingertips.

_Yes..._

_A dangerously lovely diversion you are, Tetsuya Kuchiki._

He felt oddly touched when Tetsuya shifted and loosed a soft, sighing moan, then curled more deeply into his surprised captor's arms.

_He is still unconscious and has no idea, of course._

_Still..._

Aizen's eyes closed and he drifted off, that last thought still dangling tantalizingly over his mind as he slept.


	5. Temptation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen's flirtations annoy and distress his captive, leading Tetsuya to rash actions...

Tetsuya floated beneath consciousness, in his body, but barely aware...still aching from his battle with the Arrancar, but with an odd, restlessness inside. Aizen's healing reiatsu swirled around him and held him in that calm, but disturbingly vulnerable state. And he could hear the man speaking, but could not understand the words. The sensations, however, were soothing and unusually pleasant. And despite the precariousness of his association with the criminal, Tetsuya felt oddly safe and unnaturally comfortable. Aizen's voice continued to sound in his mind as he drifted deeper into an open, tranquil state, and he wondered what the man was saying to him, and why he couldn't seem to surface enough to respond. Slowly, he left even semi-consciousness, and fell into a peaceful, dreamy stupor.

_He became aware, as he slowly returned to wakefulness, of warm hands touching his body. They slid slowly and meticulously over his skin, as though wanting not to miss touching any part of him. But as they moved, they came tantalizingly close to his most sensitive places, teasing him with the promise of pleasure, but stopping carefully short of doing delivering it. It made sense, of course. The man with him knew that stimulating those places would cause him pain, and must, he thought, be seeking to comfort him, to relax him after battle._

_He tried to remember who the man was and what battle he was thinking of, but his mind refused to connect with the information. And a moment later, he realized..._

_"I must be dreaming..." he mused softly._

_He knew that he had been constantly on guard, horridly afraid and uncertain. Death had been stalking him for several days, although he could not remember now, how or why, or what form that threat of death had taken. And although he tried, he could not break through the peaceful lassitude that had surrounded and swallowed him._

_"That is right," he whispered, "He...whoever that was...was going to let me die after I was injured in that fight. Is this what death is like, then?"_

_"Perhaps," a male voice answered._

_Tetsuya caught his breath softly and opened his eyes._

_Someone was leaning over him, but although the slender, muscular body of the man reminded him of someone, his face was obscured._

_"Who are you?" the noble asked softly, "Are you an angel?"_

_He felt an amused smile that his eyes could not perceive._

_"Why am I here?" Tetsuya asked, "Is this what happens when a shinigami dies, then?"_

_The man did not answer, but continued the warm flow of reiatsu and the movement of his hands over Tetsuya's relaxed form. And as the purposeful fingertips slid closer to, and began to tease his more sensitive flesh, he felt the blossoming of something both of the senses and of the heart. His heart quickened and a soft throbbing invaded his loins. Tetsuya caught his breath in surprise and tried to pull away. But his body refused to obey him, and betrayed a longing for those pleasant touches to continue._

_"But...it will...hurt."_

_"No," said the calm voice, "It will not hurt. Be at ease. Breathe slowly. Let go of your concerns. You are safe with me."_

_"But, who are you? Do I know you?"_

_"Shh...no more questions."_

_"But..."_

_A warm throb of reiatsu stilled his objections and sent him deeper into that calm, removed state. He sighed inwardly and fell into a gentle spin as the man's touches continued to both soothe and beckon him. They teased him with a kind of pleasure he had never experienced before, something lovely and forbidden, something dreamed of, but feared._

_"But why did I fear this?" he whispered._

_"You need fear this no more," the man whispered back, "You are safe with me."_

_And as much as the pleasure that the man gave him was enchanting, even more so, was the almost forgotten feeling of safety, of being in a protected place, and among trusted companions. He tried again to remember how he had lost those things, but his mind was still too hazy to connect with the memory._

_"Let everything else go," the man's voice said soothingly, "We are two connected souls, here to enjoy each other. Do not question anymore."_

_Hungry lips fell on his and began to devour them, and the hands that had soothed him, began to ravish. No longer avoiding his most sensitive places, those wonderful hands touched him everywhere. A coil seemed to tighten, somewhere inside him, and the throbbing ache in his loins grew into a needy, passionate longing. Tetsuya forgot his misgivings and sank into that hot, marauding mouth, and his hands rose to touch the man above him in return...as much to return the gift of that pleasure, as to seek more for himself. The man made a soft, sweet sound of surprise, then quietly laid his body down on top of the noble's, coaxing a happy sigh from Tetsuya at the feeling of so much of their skin making contact._

_"This...is arousal," he mused, "I have only felt it tease me before. I could not progress to this because of the pain. What did you do? How did you make this happen?"_

_The man plunged into his mouth again, stealing away the means for words and the breath to speak them, and teasing his body into a pretty frenzy. He shifted slightly and inhaled sharply as the movement created lovely friction between them. The man on top of him moved until his naked member gently rested against Tetsuya's. Tetsuya gasped softly at the intensity of his desire, at the feeling of attraction between himself and the other man, and the calling of his body for a kind of completion, he had never felt before._

_Even not seeing them, he felt the scathing touch of the man's eyes raking his naked flesh. He felt those pleasant hands moving and their bodies beginning to thrust against each other. He let go of everything and savored the heat of the man's mouth and the beautiful sensations as their movements made their hard, damp arousals caress each other. He moaned into the other man's mouth, and felt him catch his breath._

_Something was happening._

_The other man's body moved with more urgency, thrusting harder against him. His mouth released Tetsuya's and loosed a groan of intense pleasure. The sound traveled in an electric swell around and through Tetsuya's untried body, capturing him and lifting him, then loosing him again and sending him spiraling headlong into something he had never experienced before._

_He gave a sob of surrender that was swallowed up as the man's mouth found his again, and wet heat erupted onto their skin. His member seemed to spasm endlessly, and his body to hum with life and warmth. The man on top of him slowed and panted heavily, his own release blending with Tetsuya's on their sweating flesh. They stopped moving then, resting with their bodies and lips still touching, and a delightful feeling of satedness circulating through them. Tetsuya had the sudden sensation of a veil being drawn away from his eyes, and he awoke to full awareness._

"Wh-what?" he gasped, meeting Aizen's sleepy, smiling eyes in complete shock.

He tore away from the traitor, his body still warmed by their mingled seed and trembling with completion. A moment later, pain erupted all through him. He howled in agony and collapsed onto the cave floor, unable to move. Aizen lifted himself slowly and crawled to the fallen shinigami's side, then leaned over him, gazing down into his stunned, blue eyes.

"What did you...do to me?" Tetsuya managed in a shaking voice, "Did you...?"

Aizen's eyes met his calmly.

"I did not rape you...if that's what you are concerned about."

"But," panted the distressed noble, "You...you..."

"It seems that we were dreaming together," Aizen mused, looking down at the sticky fluid on their skin and smiling, "and it looks to have been a very pleasant dream."

Tetsuya's eyes flashed and his slender body shook with rage. He pulled away as Aizen reached out towards him, ignoring the pain that rocketed through him as he moved, and meeting the traitor's eyes with undisguised fury.

"You...!" he gasped angrily, "You used you zanpakutou to manipulate me! You horrid beast! You took advantage of me while I was recovering from that battle! HOW DARE YOU!"

He threw himself mindlessly at Aizen, ignoring the hard flashes of pain in his body, releasing hateful curses and sharp strikes of kido and clenched fists as he attacked the man. Aizen allowed the first few blows to land, absorbing them effortlessly, then captured Tetsuya's hands and watched in amusement as the enraged shinigami struggled and snapped viciously at him. He gazed down into Tetsuya's sapphire eyes and waited as the pent up emotion poured out of the younger man, and he slowly realized the futility of what he was doing.

As he began to calm again, Tetsuya felt the hard rush of returning pain and collapsed against Aizen.

"You have no idea how much that I regret you cannot die right now," Tetsuya hissed, catching his breath at the throbs and aches that threatened to overwhelm him.

Aizen gave him a relaxed, tolerant smile and brushed the tangled hair away from his face. Tetsuya glared back, barely able to conceal how much he still hurt.

A moment later, he froze as he realized...

Aizen's smile widened.

"You understand, ne?" he said, nodding, "The pain you feel inside is not from being touched sexually, but from your battle, Tetsuya. You should lie back down. I will bring you some tea."

"Bring me some tea?" mused Tetsuya, his face blushing brightly, "You bastard! I don't want anything from you, except for you to let me go...NOW!"

He flinched as pain flashed inside him again.

"Calm yourself," said Aizen, sounding unaffected and even slightly amused by the noble's angry outburst, "You are still healing and will only make yourself uncomfortable, letting your anger make you so reckless...although anger looks oddly attractive on you..."

"Shut up!" yelled Tetsuya, backing away from him and collapsing again, "Do not touch me. you damned, wretched snake!"

"Interesting," mused Aizen, still smiling at him, "Though not quite what I expected after releasing you from the last bit of Itamigiri that imprisoned you..."

"Oh, and is that supposed to make up for you using your illusions to...to...?"

"To give you your first pleasure?" said Aizen, smirking, "Is that really such a horrible offense? I thought it was actually a very reasonable desire, ne? Seeing one who had never reached orgasm, finally..."

"But love and sexuality are profound...sacred things!" the noble objected, "And to one like me, who never experienced those things before...who had lost all hope of ever meeting with them. Sousuke, to expend that sexual energy on someone who was only toying with me...you...remind me of my jailors."

Aizen's smile faded and his brown eyes darkened. He said nothing, but gazed quietly at the noble as he continued. Tetsuya lowered his eyes, then closed them, remembering.

"Most of them were just people who followed, who...accepted what they were told, and obeyed orders. But there were those who seemed to truly embrace a realm in which justice and mercy had lost their meaning...where one could loose his wickedness, his evil on another...and never have to account for it."

His eyes opened again and met Aizen's forcefully.

"You hated me for being noble, for being a part of Central 46. And maybe there is a deeper reason for that. But those men...they hated me for something that I never chose to be...for something I couldn't see as wrong. Is it wrong for two people to love each other, just because one is noble and one common? Is lower blood really so foul?" he whispered, tears rising in his eyes, "because my mother looked beautiful to me. But I never knew if it was really that way, or if it was just the peasant blood in me that made me see her that way. But I heard them call her trash...and...they would..."

He broke off for a moment, his arms curling around his shivering body.

"They would...force themselves on her, while I sat, caged, only a few cells away, covering my eyes, because she begged me to, and trying not to hear. Even though she only felt pain, they used her that way. And it wasn't only her, Sousuke. They used the other women and the older boys too. And...if Byakuya had been one day...even one hour later in arriving, I would have suffered that same fate. So if you misinterpreted my reactions before, I hope you won't now. And I sincerely hope that if you are tempted to use me in that way...that you abandon it and take my life instead. Because I would rather die than suffer being used like that...having something so sacred stolen from me. It is the only part of me not fouled by that place...by those hateful people."

He went quiet, tightening his arms around his shaking body and surrendering to silent tears. Aizen watched him for a moment, his expression unreadable. Then, he turned away and left him near the cave entrance, looking out into the endless night. He returned and short time later and set a cup of hot tea in the noble's hands, then moved around behind him and continued infusing his body with healing reiatsu.

Tetsuya stared down at the reflection of the moon on the surface of the tea, wishing fervently that he could be at home, sitting next to Byakuya near their favorite waterfall, enjoying the sight together. He tried to calm himself by picturing his room at Kuchiki Manor, the garden path, the patio table where they usually enjoyed their morning tea, the forest trail, the waterfall and lake, the open meadows. His heart slowed, and control returned in small amounts. He shivered again at the feel of Aizen's hands touching him, but quietly accepted the relief of healing and the slow regaining of the energy he had loosed in his battle with the Arrancar. Aizen said nothing more to him, but simply finished healing him and then left him where he was. The former captain retreated to the back of the cave and fell asleep, leaving Tetsuya staring out into the darkness.

Tetsuya waited until Aizen slept, then slipped out of the cave and over to where Arashi stood, dozing. The stallion opened one blue eye and gazed at him disapprovingly, then closed it again and ignored him.

"Why won't you see me?" Tetsuya whispered, "I want to go home, Arashi. I want to sleep in my own bed and listen to the wind blowing in the trees outside my room. I want to hear the noises you make in the gardens...Byakuya's footsteps on the wooden walkway outside our rooms...birds...cicadas. I want to be where there is light again. I want to feel warm rays of sun on my skin and the cool water of the lake. And I want to feel safe...not imprisoned...free...not held against my will. Even if I step wrong and get hurt or killed, I want to know that I chose those steps willingly. I am dying inside, Arashi. Much longer with this man, in this awful place, and I will be a hollow too."

He felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder and froze.

"I understand," said Aizen's maddeningly calm voice, "and I do regret that you were the one I took with me. I would let you go now...but I need you to serve a greater purpose. And it is even one that you will find palatable, I think."

Tetsuya turned his head and met the other man's eyes questioningly.

"When we reach Las Noches, I will separate my soul from that of the hougyoku. Once that is done, I will be vulnerable to death. I want you to make a blood oath with me."

"What?"

"I want you to agree that if you see me to the end of my quest to destroy the hougyoku, I will release you, unharmed. I will let you go home."

"But...a blood oath?"

"It is necessary that you be able to trust me, and I must be able to trust you. A blood oath is an unbreakable vow that will guarantee me the strength of your sword as my ally, and it will take your uncertainty away and allow you to focus on fighting something that threatens, not just us, but the worlds we inhabit, Tetsuya. I might have created the hougyoku, but I did not realize that it was more corrupt than me. It is a foul mistake that must be undone, and I want you to help me do that. Do not answer me now. We will talk about it when we reach the fortress."

He looked away from Tetsuya for a moment.

"Kyouka Suigetsu," he said quietly.

The zanpakutou spirit appeared and gazed at his master questioningly.

"You will make Tetsuya comfortable for the night. He is to be surrounded by things that are familiar to him, things that are pleasant. Read his thoughts and make it as he wishes."

"No."

Aizen looked back at Tetsuya questioningly.

"I need to have my wits about me."

"You still mistrust me?" asked Aizen, "Though really, it is not a surprise."

"I trust you will allow me time to make my decision. I only meant that this is not a place to let one's guard down. I will sleep, unaided by illusion. Reality may be harsh, but sometimes harshness is necessary."

"I would not allow you to be harmed...and you would be at home for the night. Do you really not want this?"

Tetsuya considered the suggestion, then shook his head briefly.

"I do not want to be teased with thoughts of home. I will be strong enough to win my way back, or I will die here. But I will not close my eyes to what surrounds me."

Aizen gave him a shadowed smile.

"Again, you are very like your cousin. Byakuya too, is deeply grounded that way. I think he would be proud to see himself so reflected in you."

"Do you?" Tetsuya asked, suddenly meeting the other man's eyes again.

Aizen nodded and continued to study Tetsuya's calming expression.

"Hmmm," he said, narrowing his eyes, "That seems to matter a great deal to you, Tetsuya. Are you certain that you do not harbor more than brotherly love for him?"

"I do not," said the noble, with certainty, "but I do want to be like him...strong, powerful, unafraid, calm through everything, and steadfast in defending what is important to him. Who wouldn't want that?"

"But surely," said Aizen, "You must have seen how his place within a noble clan holds him back. Truly, you can't have missed it, Tetsuya. It is a prison too, though not so obvious as the one that held you."

"You are wrong," said the noble, meeting his eyes squarely, "Byakuya is an honorable man, and he chooses to defend and support the royal family, as all noble families are expected to. He accepts that with great power comes the responsibility of caring for and nurturing our clan. It is no prison, but a privilege to be so tasked."

"You speak of the nobles as though you are really one of them...as though you have forgotten what they did to your family. Have you, Tetsuya Kuchiki?"

Tetsuya's lips tightened and he shook his head.

"I will never forget what was done to us, Sousuke," he answered, "But I will not hold all nobles responsible for the cruelty of the ones who tormented us."

Aizen smiled sadly.

"That..." he said softly, "is where you and I differ. But then, I have no noble blood to interfere with my thinking."

Tetsuya started to respond, but stopped as Aizen's arm slipped around him and the former captain turned him back towards the cave.

"Come now. It is late and we have a long journey ahead of us."

They walked back into the cave and moved to the back, where Aizen had laid out their bedding.

"Undress," Aizen said, startling the noble.

He smiled at Tetsuya's confused expression.

"Did you think I would forget that, again, you tried to abandon me?"

"But," Tetsuya objected, "It is freezing in here!"

"Don't worry," said Aizen, smirking, "I will keep you warm."


	6. A Natural Act

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen confronts Tetsuya about their growing attraction to each other.

"We should reach the fortress today," Aizen said, releasing Tetsuya from his possessive embrace and handing him a yukata.

His eyes crawled slowly over the noble's lovely flesh as Tetsuya pointedly ignored him and dressed quickly. He followed the former captain quietly to Arashi and mounted the stallion, settling into place and calmly accepting Aizen's arms as they closed around him again. It was hard not to enjoy the gentle, swooping motion of Arashi as he moved gracefully over the dark sands, his sharp eyes picking out the safest path and his strong reiatsu warning off most of the hollows in the area. And despite his feelings about the man he traveled with, it did feel strangely pleasant to feel the closeness of another person, the feeling of affectionate arms encircling him. He tilted his head back slightly to look up into the stars, then flinched and pulled away as Aizen's face brushed lightly against his.

"I thought you would be tired of the darkness by now," Aizen commented, his soft voice leaving Tetsuya half wanting to kill the man and half wanting to sink further into his arms and close his eyes.

He can be so insufferably wicked, but then...when he is quiet and relaxed like this...

"I am rather weary of it," Tetsuya admitted, "but I have nothing better to do to pass the time."

"No," agreed Aizen, "There is nothing to do for now, but let Arashi carry us forward and enjoy the lovely stars, and the pleasant tension between us."

"Pleasant tension?" mused the noble, "Is that what you call it? Your touch leaves me cold inside, Sousuke. It only reminds me that I may never again feel the warmth of sun on my skin and the loveliness of the gardens around my home. There is nothing here but darkness, iciness and the promise of eventual death. The only hopes I cling to are that you will not violate me and turn me into one of these horrid hollows when you bleed my life away. Then, at least I might die with my honor intact."

Aizen gazed at him for a moment and sighed softly.

"Tetsuya, you are far too young to have grown so cynical."

"The constant threat of violation and death wears on a soul."

"I have offered you a way to escape this situation alive," Aizen reminded him, "And...I find the prospect of breaking down your barriers and seducing you far more attractive than forcibly having my way with you."

"I would..."

"I know," said the smirking traitor, placing his fingers over the noble's lips to stop him, "You would rather die than let me touch you. But enough unpleasantness. I want to know more about you."

"I already told you..."

"That is not what I mean," Aizen said, shaking his head, "I want to know what interests you."

"Are you always so inquisitive about your hostages?" inquired the noble, raising a fine eyebrow.

"Not usually," Aizen said smoothly, "but I haven't ever had a captive as interesting as you."

"It is wonderful to feel so appreciated," sighed the noble, "but you are known to be very capable of figuring someone out long before they utter a word about themselves, so why don't you just tell me what you have already concluded about me, and I will fill in the blanks."

"Ah, a man of brevity and one who prefers to 'cut to the chase,' ne Tetsuya?" said Aizen, "Very well. You have been a cooperative prisoner, so I shall indulge you. First...you have sharp eyes and quick wits. You may have been a prisoner for a time, but you have never lost your courage, or your thirst for freedom. You have made yourself strong because you are resolved never to allow yourself to be caged again. This is also why you have pursued avenues within the powerful Kuchiki and Central 46 councils. Thus, you have cultivated both your physical powers and your ability to affect the application and improvement of the laws that govern our lands. You operate very much under the belief that you must know your enemy well to defeat him...and you have fought intolerance tooth and nail, ever since you took your first steps as a free man. But...despite being made wiser and more cautious by your captivity, you still have a softer, more vulnerable core."

"What makes you think that?" the noble asked.

"You, without hesitation, valued the life of your cousin over your hard-won freedom...your own life, even, because you knew when we left Central 46 that I had every intention of killing you. You went willingly to your 'death,' allowing Byakuya to live."

"Byakuya freed me."

"And by so doing, he earned your absolute trust and loyalty, ne Tetsuya?"

Tetsuya gazed back at him and said nothing.

"You don't have to answer. I already know. You are completely devoted to your cousin, and as he was your savior, you feel you owe him."

"I do not simply owe him for that," Tetsuya added, "Byakuya took me into his home at Kuchiki Manor. He saw to my education, and to my learning of the history of the Kuchiki family. He trained me personally, and encouraged me to reach for ban kai, so that I would never have to allow myself to be imprisoned again."

"And it rankles you to no end," Aizen said, smirking, "that of all of the enemies who could have abducted you, you found yourself in the hands of the one against whom that ban kai is useless, one who cannot even die. You have struggled valiantly to stay alive, and you have been lucky, but you do not expect that luck to hold out. You believe that every minute you are in my presence, the certainty of your death grows ever closer. But rather than losing your mind to desperation, you show marvelous poise, even as you sense time is running out."

"So your offer was just a tease," concluded the noble, "You have no intention..."

"Have you forgotten that we will take a blood oath?" Aizen asked, his breath tickling Tetsuya's ear and sending a soft shiver through him, "Both of us will be bound by it...you to assist me faithfully in the destruction of the hougyoku, and me, to release you, unharmed, when that quest is completed."

Tetsuya gazed back at him quietly, his sapphire eyes dark and unreadable.

"You suspect a trick."

"I suspect you have no intention of me walking away alive," Tetsuya answered, "It is likely that the destruction of the hougyoku requires a blood sacrifice, or some such thing, and you will use me for that. You won't kill me yourself, but you will gladly let me be sacrificed."

"How very cold," said Aizen, "You do despise me. Well as crafty as you believe I am being, I am afraid that I must disappoint you. I do not know what the destruction of the hougyoku will require. I simply plan to make this agreement with you, because once I am released from the grasp of the hougyoku, I will be vulnerable to death. I intend for you to assist in defending me, while I work at destroying it."

"You do realize, do you not?" asked Tetsuya, "The more you protest your innocence and honest intentions, the less likely I am to trust you."

"The blood oath should reassure you..."

"It only means that you will not kill me with your own hands."

"Well," said Aizen, smiling at Tetsuya," That is one less thing that could threaten your life...and a rather beastly one at that, ne? You would do well to be rid of it and at least have a sporting chance of survival."

He paused, noting the sudden sadness that clouded the noble's handsome features.

"What is wrong?" he asked, resting his head lightly on Tetsuya's shoulder from behind.

Tetsuya was quiet for a moment, then yielded the truth with such a vulnerable expression, Aizen found himself inexplicably speechless.

"I know I should be used to your callousness, but sometimes...it cuts through to my heart anyway. Not that it matters, but some odd place inside me actually still holds out hope that you might have something resembling a heart, Sousuke Aizen...that it hasn't been hollowed out and disappeared like the hearts of the hollows you led. I know it's stupid, but..."

He froze as Aizen's lips claimed his in an unexpectedly gentle and affectionate kiss. His eyes were wistful as he met Tetsuya's again.

"Nothing about you is stupid," the brown-eyed shinigami said, his expression uncharacteristically serious, "And that one such as you would hold out any hope for one such as me is an unbearably rare and beautiful thing...as sweetly hopeless as it might be."

He sighed softly and tightened his arms around Tetsuya as Arashi continued moving forward. The stallion slowed and pranced nervously, gazing into the distance, where a black cloud was swirling towards them, and showing the whites of his eyes.

"Sandstorm," Aizen said, scanning the area around them.

He spotted a cave of serviceable size in a cluster of rocks and angled Arashi towards it. The two shinigamis dismounted and watched as Arashi reared and dashed away. Aizen frowned and glanced at Tetsuya questioningly.

"He will be able to escape it," Tetsuya said with certainty, "and he will return after. He knows we will be safer here."

"Ah," said Aizen, "Then, we should retire into the cave."

Tetsuya entered the cave and walked to the back, dropping his pack and then unrolling and preparing their bedding. He watched briefly as Aizen covered the entrance, then sat down with his back against the rock wall. He glanced at Tetsuya in the halflight and shook his head briefly.

"We might as well get what rest we can now. Things will move quickly once we reach Las Noches."

Tetsuya looked back at him for a moment, then gave a resigned sigh and disrobed before lying down in the bed he had made. Aizen moved to the back of the cave and looked down at him with an amused expression.

"You know," he said, smirking, "I was planning to reward your good behavior today by letting you sleep with your clothes on...but...seeing as how you have already made yourself naked for me..."

His smile widened at the annoyed look the noble gave him, and he slipped out of his own clothes and laid down, curling his body around Tetsuya's and burying his face in the noble's soft, sakura scented hair. Tetsuya rested quietly in his arms, wearing a pensive expression and staring off into the distance. The wind howled outside, making soft, ghostly echoes within the cave.

"The wind outside the prison used to make that sound," Tetsuya said, forgetting for a moment, where he was and who was holding him, "I used to push up against the bars that separated my cell from Naoki's those nights because that sound was so...lonely."

"Naoki?" Aizen said quietly, "You haven't mentioned him before. But...the way you say his name...he was special to you? A friend? A lover, perhaps?"

"We weren't allowed to have lovers, remember?" Tetsuya sighed, closing his eyes, "But...I imagine that what we shared was as close to being lovers as we were capable of being. We slept next to each other with the bars impeding us each night, and even after the procedure we were subjected to, we did kiss each other, even though it hurt to do so. And we protected each other in what ways we could."

"But something tells me that Naoki did not reach safety during the liberating of the prison," said Aizen.

"No," admitted the noble, "The men who freed the ones in our cellblock were set upon by the guards and forced onto a cliff. The guards were attacking and there was nowhere for us to go. We were going to die, so Naoki and I decided that we would take our chances and jump into the water beneath the cliff. A kido blast struck him as we jumped together, and his hand was torn from mine. We crashed down into the water and I lost consciousness. I would have drowned, but my zanpakutou protected me. When I woke, Byakuya was with me...and he told me that the one with me, Naoki, had not survived. Byakuya sensed by my reaction that Naoki was close to me, and when he took me in, he got permission to have him buried in the family cemetery, as he had protected a Kuchiki family member, me, from death in the raid. If I loved my cousin for freeing me, I loved him more for giving me a place to pour out my grief. People think that Byakuya is a cold man, but he is only that way when duty or honor demands it. That coldness does not extend to his heart."

"I had long suspected," said Aizen, "But the way you speak of Byakuya, I think that Naoki is not the only shinigami whom you have loved. I think you were lying to me before, Tetsuya. I think that you..."

"Byakuya is our leader. Also, although male nobles can produce heirs together, it would not be appropriate for him to love a half-blood. And, in any case, my condition inhibiting romantic relations could not be cured."

"But you did not say this time, that you did not desire your cousin that way."

"No, I did not say that this time."

"So...is that why you are resisting my advances? Are you saving yourself for Byakuya?"

"I can't..."

"Kyouka Suigetsu could extend his powers to allow you to be with Byakuya without pain as well."

"Hmmm," said Tetsuya, glaring at him, "And what would Sousuke Aizen require in return? Perhaps to be first?"

Aizen smiled.

"You know me too well."

"Yes, I agree," snapped Tetsuya, "I would rather not know you at all and live with the pain and loneliness...and virginity!"

A look of realization spread over Tetsuya's face and anger flared in his sapphire eyes.

"YOU!" he shouted, "I can't believe you...!"

"I what?" asked Aizen, smirking as Tetsuya sat up and shoved him away.

"You Bastard! You said that your zanpakutou could extend his powers to Byakuya! That means that you didn't simply cure my condition, you only made it so that you were the only one who could touch me and have it not hurt!"

Aizen gave a nonchalant shrug.

"I prefer fidelity in my lovers," he said flippantly.

"I am not your lover!" cried Tetsuya, striking at him with a flurry of fists and kido.

His breath was taken away as Aizen's reiatsu swelled around them, and the traitor grabbed him and forced him to the ground. He looked calmly into Tetsuya's furious eyes and sealed the noble's spirit energy away.

"You need to remember that you cannot kill me...though judging by the weakness of your attack, I think you did not actually have a plan for killing me or for escape, but you were just reacting emotionally. You cannot continue to let your emotions get the better of you, Tetsuya. It could cause you to make a deadly miscalculation."

"As though you would care!" the noble said, scowling and struggling fitfully under Aizen's hands, "You don't care at all what happens to me beyond the moment I part my legs for you! You..."

He went silent as Aizen's body dropped down onto his and the other man's mouth claimed his forcefully. As the scathing kiss ended, he left his lips poised, a breath away from his captive's. His eyes met Tetsuya's widened ones and the younger man quivered under his hands.

"Tetsuya," Aizen said quietly, "Although a man may lie with his words, his kiss will reveal him. I am going to kiss you again, and I want you to kiss me back."

"Why?" the noble asked, his heart pounding.

"Do not argue. Kiss me."

"No."

Aizen's lips teased his and Tetsuya shivered and closed his eyes.

"What are you afraid of?"

The traitor's hand captured his own arousal and he rubbed the wet head lightly around the noble's virgin entrance. Tetsuya's body went taut and his chest heaved softly.

"Are you afraid I might actually have honest feelings for you?" Aizen whispered, brushing their lips together again, "Or...could you be afraid that you are beginning to feel something for me in return?"

His fingers touched Tetsuya's lips, stopping his automatic reply.

"Do not speak. Kiss me."

Tetsuya's tormented eyes returned to his and he let out his breath in a shuddering sigh.

"I can't..."

Aizen's eyes narrowed and his lips quirked slightly.

"It's all right," he whispered, kissing Tetsuya's lips lightly, "You have already told me everything I needed to know."

He lifted himself off the noble and dressed quietly, then returned to the cave entrance and sat down with his back against the wall as he had before.

Tetsuya rolled onto his stomach, his head turned to the side and his eyes on Aizen, his heart still racing, his body achingly aroused, and honor and virginity still intact.

_What just happened?_

_And why do I feel like Sousuke Aizen knows more about me than I have ever told anyone?_


	7. True to Nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen stuns and frightens Tetsuya with his reaction to mention of a certain name...

"You are quieter even than usual this morning," Aizen commented, handing Tetsuya his clothes and watching as the younger man dressed, "Are you ill?"

Tetsuya let out a soft breath.

"I do not feel particularly well," the noble admitted, "but it is as likely heart-weariness as physical."

"Ah," said Aizen, "That and the fact that you stubbornly refuse to properly nourish yourself. You Kuchikis seem quite prone to melancholy, ne? I saw some of that in Byakuya as well, when we served as captains together."

"It's hard to remember you as a captain," commented Tetsuya, "I saw you a few times, but never spoke to you. Byakuya said that you were a kind person...one who was sensitive to the needs of the ones around you."

"But that was a lie...all of it," Aizen said quietly, "You know that, ne? You do not seem one to delude yourself, though this journey is wearing on you..."

"You are wrong," Tetsuya said quietly.

Aizen looked at him questioningly.

"You are highly sensitive to everything around you. But...how you employ that gift is where the root of that lie was. Your sensitivity to the hearts of the ones around you, told you what their vulnerabilities were...and...unlike the kind taichou of Squad Five, who expressed his understanding through kindness, you express yours through preying on those needs and using them to your benefit. And when their needs no longer serve you, you cast them aside. You kill them...or you let them die. It seems that by choice, you isolate yourself."

"You think I want to be different? To stand alone?" Aizen asked, "I may walk a solitary path, but I have chosen this because there is no one who understands my ambitions. I was made unnaturally powerful, Tetsuya. I have searched for...even tried to create one of equal power, but none have approached me."

"What about Ichigo Kurosaki? He pushed you to the ends of your strength. He weakened you enough that Kisuke Urahara could seal away the hougyoku."

"Ichigo, for all that he came close, still could not defeat me without help. He wasn't strong enough."

"But what I do not understand is why the power of the person you seek must be equal to your own. Can you not love and respect one with less power, but one who touches your heart?"

Aizen smirked.

"I thought you questioned whether or not I even have one," he said, shaking his head, "But to answer your question, you must go back to a simple law of reality. Tetsuya, all things in existence are only as strong as their weakest point. I forgot that simple rule of our worlds one time...and I paid dearly."

Tetsuya met his eyes guardedly.

"Are you talking about Yasu Iitoku?" asked the noble.

Aizen's eyes widened and he grabbed Tetsuya by the shoulders and glared down into his eyes. Tetsuya froze, staring back at him and wincing as the older man's fingers dug into his upper arms and his reiatsu swelled until Tetsuya could barely draw a breath.

"Where did you hear that name?" he demanded furiously, "Tell me!"

Tetsuya leaned forward, placing a hand on his chest as he struggled to breathe. Aizen finally seemed to register his distress and calmed his reiatsu, then watched with darkened eyes as Tetsuya pulled away from him and panted heavily to catch his breath.

"How do you know about him?" asked Aizen, "Who told you?"

Tetsuya swallowed hard and looked up at him.

"Y-you said that name in your sleep," he whispered in a shaky voice, backing away on hands an knees and taking refuge in the corner of the cave, "I do not know who he is."

Aizen moved closer to the cornered shinigami and knelt in front of him, taking hold of his chin and staring down into his eyes again.

"No one remembers him," he said softly, "And no one will. I erased his existence...a long time ago."

Tetsuya stared into the deadly brown eyes breathlessly.

"You are never to say that name again," Aizen warned him.

He held the noble's shocked eyes for a moment longer, then let go of his chin and turned away, heading towards the cave entrance.

"Come, Tetsuya," he said solemnly, "The sandstorm has ended. We are going."

Tetsuya remained frozen in the back of the cave, shivering inwardly as his mind replayed Aizen's frightening warning. He tried to make the voice disappear, to force his body into motion, but could not seem to break through the wall of terror that had closed in around him. His heart raged, out of control and his head spun. His breath shortened and the air seemed to go hazy around him. He heard Aizen's voice come closer again, then felt a hand touch his shoulder.

He heard a sobbing gasp erupt from his panicked body, and the next moment was on his feet and running out of the cave and into the desert. Some part of him realized the senselessness of what he was doing, but he seemed to have lost his ability to reason properly. An arm wrapped around his waist and he loosed a horrified scream, like one caught in a nightmare. Aizen's voice sounded in his ear and he collapsed onto his knees, drawing and releasing hard, shuddering breaths. Aizen's arms locked around him and his hands held Tetsuya's wrists firmly. Anchored tightly in the other man's grip and soothed by the gentler sound of Aizen's voice, he calmed gradually and began to regain his senses. His breathing slowed and the feeling of vertigo passed. He sagged against Aizen and closed his eyes.

"I was right to think that this situation is wearing on you," Aizen said quietly, "As much courage as you possess and as strong as you are, it has settled in that you have no means of escape unless I allow you to go, and your life is completely in my hands. Tetsuya, it is no sign of weakness to see the reality of that and to have a panic response."

"N-nothing like that has ever happened to me," the noble admitted in a shaky voice, "I have never lost control like that, not even when I lived in the prison."

Aizen's hands relinquished their grip on his wrists.

"You are one who is used to being able to control his mind and body perfectly," Aizen agreed, "but even though that is how you are normally, you have never been in a precarious situation like the one you find yourself in. In the prison, you had fears, but you grew into acceptance of your situation. In this case, you cannot allow yourself to let down and be accepting. And holding up your defenses for such a long duration would eventually break down even one like you. But I cannot afford to have you lose your mind at this point, so I am going to have to assist you by relieving the pressure."

"How?" Tetsuya asked warily.

A soft throb of kido sent the noble instantly into senselessness.

"Kyouka Suigetsu."

The zanpakutou spirit appeared next to him.

"I want you to affect his senses so that he perceives me as a trusted friend."

"Not a lover?" the spirit said, looking at him calmly, "Because I sense..."

"Do as I tell you," Aizen commanded softly.

Kyouka Suigetsu's green eyes blinked.

"Have you forgotten, Master?" he asked softly, "I only freed you because that stone in your chest tried to destroy me and I decided that, even though it meant working with the one who abandoned me, I would exact my revenge. It does not mean that I have forgiven you...or that, in your nearly powerless state, that you have the right to command me."

"I see."

"And where I see you falling into error and threatening our plans, I will act or not, as I choose."

He glanced at the unconscious man in Aizen's arms.

"You have become too attached to him. I want you to kill him...or to allow me to take his life. We cannot afford to weaken ourselves by becoming dependant."

"But, neither can we destroy the hougyoku without additional power. You know that."

The spirit met his eyes meaningfully.

"Then seek assistance elsewhere. You do not need this man."

"But he will be useful in fending off distractions while we destroy the hougyoku."

"He causes you greater distraction."

"Oh, come now," Aizen said, smirking, "Do you really think that...?"

"He is like that other...the one you erased."

"I do not like where this is going," Aizen said, his reiatsu darkening.

"Well, you need to hear it. And though you could intimidate one so strong as him into near madness, even in your current, reduced state, you know I am stronger right now."

"But you do not wish to die and neither do I, so we are compelled to work together. And...even though I cannot destroy you in this state, it does not benefit you to alienate me. Do not dare to act as though you can issue me orders. You will lose far more than you will gain...Kyouka Suigetsu."

"Suit yourself, then," the spirit said in a low, angry tone, "But do not think that you can issue me orders, at this point. You still have to prove you are worthy of wielding me. I grant you my powers right now, because I seek revenge, and to regain what you willingly destroyed. You will stop at nothing because of your ambitions, and you will destroy anything and everything in your path...even a part of your own soul. So what, might I ask, is the reason for drawing a pure heart like his into the line of fire? You know you will only be forced to destroy him too, at some point."

Aizen sighed.

"And why, may I ask, do you care whether I destroy him or not? Look at him. He is lovely. And although you are a spirit, and not in need of carnal stimulation, a shinigami would hardly be alive if he did not crave the warmth and beauty of others. It was lonely in that cell, and Tetsuya is fine company, not to mention, powerful enough to be of assistance."

"And what will you do now that he has begun to return your affections?"

Aizen frowned.

"Tetsuya is terrified of me. He knows I could, and might kill him any moment."

"And yet, he wavers."

"What?" said Aizen, smirking, "Because I assisted him in connecting with his long repressed sexuality? Don't make me laugh. He is not a shallow man."

"He suspects what I already know...and what you will not see."

"Stop speaking in riddles and get to the point," Aizen muttered in an annoyed tone, "We are wasting time."

"He senses your desire, and it begins to become his own."

"I told you. Tetsuya is a person of pure heart. He is not going to be fooled into thinking that I am falling in love with him."

"Tetsuya sees the truth clearly. It is you who refuses to understand."

"Ah," said Aizen, smirking again, "So we get to the heart of things, ne? You think I am falling in love, so you want to seduce me into killing him so that we will not be weakened. Is that it?"

The spirit gazed back at him wordlessly.

"Well," Aizen went on, "As much as it may disappoint you to be proven wrong, I may need him. So we have to keep him in a fit state until I know if that is so. If I determine that he is not needed to destroy the hougyoku, I can simply free him then. There is no need to kill him. Earlier on, we needed to ensure that pursuit did not begin too soon. But we have enough of a head start now that it doesn't matter. So use your powers to bolster his emotions before he has a nervous breakdown and becomes completely useless."

"No," said the spirit, "You may do whatever you want with him. But I am not compelled to help you. I will simply sit back and watch you torment him into destroying himself. Either way, he is going to die. If you had any sense, you would kill him humanely while he sleeps."

The spirit shimmered and faded, leaving the two shinigamis alone. Aizen heard a soft footstep behind him, and turned his head.

"Ah, Arashi," he said quietly, "Perhaps you will lend me a hand. I may not be able to create an illusion to comfort him, but it takes little effort to shatter one."

XXXXXXXXXX

Tetsuya felt a soft muzzle tickle his cheek and opened his eyes. Arashi's blue eyes met his and the stallion nickered softly, nudging him gently.

"A-arashi?" he whispered, reaching up to touch the horse's face.

_Master?_

Tetsuya nodded imperceptibly, noting that he was still lying in Aizen's arms.

_You recognize me now, Arashi?_

_Yes. Our friend has opened my eyes._

_Our...friend?_

Arashi blinked slowly.

_The man who holds you. Our friend._

Tetsuya sighed softly.

_So, even though you know me..._

_Master?_

_Never mind. I am relieved you know me again, Arashi._

_I am sorry that I distressed you by losing our connection. I do not know what happened._

_Do not worry about it. Just...it is good to hear your voice again._

"We should go," Aizen said, breaking into Tetsuya's thoughts, "If we linger here much longer, we will attract unwanted attention."

He stood and helped Tetsuya to his feet, then the two mounted the stallion and moved in the direction of the fortress. Tetsuya flinched uncomfortably as Aizen's arms wrapped around him again, and he avoided the other man's eyes as Aizen leaned over his shoulder to study his face.

"About what happened before," Aizen said quietly, "I acted more forcibly than I should have. I will not speak to you of that person, and I expect you not to ask. As long as you respect that, there will not be a repeat of what happened at the cave."

Tetsuya said nothing, but his lips tightened for a moment and he nodded briefly.

Aizen nudged Arashi into a canter and the stallion carried them quietly through the dark desert. Tetsuya's eyes watched closely as they approached the fortress and he started to see hollow sentries. He risked a glance at his captor.

"They don't see us?" he asked softly.

"No," Aizen answered, keeping his eyes fixed on the fortress, "My zanpakutou has used his power to conceal our approach. We will slip inside and go to the archive to search for the information I need. And when I have found that, I will need to know your intentions as far as taking the blood oath."

Tetsuya let out a defeated sigh.

"I have already decided," he said solemnly.

Aizen studied his downcast eyes and wistful expression in the darkness.

"Do not be too quick to speak," he warned the noble, "Make sure that your decision reflects proper thinking and is not a reaction to what happened before."

"I know what I am doing."

"And?"

"I managed to survive years of captivity and the intolerance of those who hated me for my mixed blood. I have to think that I have come thus far for a reason. And I would rather that reason be more than dying meaninglessly in the heart of enemy territory, especially when the other option is to assist in the destruction of something as wicked as the hougyoku."

"Ah, yes," said Aizen, "That pure and romantic heart surfaces. And you provide understandable reason for that choice. You have thought about this carefully."

"I have."

"Very well, then," he said, releasing the seal on the noble's powers, "As soon as I have completed the plans for the destruction of the hougyoku, we will take the blood oath. Until then, remain close to me. If you stray away from me, then you will lose the protection of my zanpakutou. Even then, some few may sense us. And until the hougyoku is separated from me and my own powers are restored, we are more vulnerable."

"I understand," Tetsuya answered, going quiet again as Arashi slowed and entered the fortress courtyard.

Tetsuya slid down off of the stallion's back and waited as Aizen followed. Then the two watched as Arashi trotted away. They crossed the courtyard and entered through the large double doors, Tetsuya shaking his head in wonder at how the sentries continued to stand solemnly in their places. They walked up the grand staircase in the entry and turned down a maze of hallways. They passed within inches of the hollow denizens of the fortress and made their way to another large set of double doors. Aizen opened them, and waited as Tetsuya passed through, then closed the doors behind them.

Neither saw the tiny, floating hollow that turned its angular head and frowned at them, then slipped through the door just before it closed.


	8. Who We Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tetsuya makes a stunning choice that changes everything between Aizen and him.

Tetsuya watched quietly as Aizen set a heavy barrier on the archive door, then turned to face the noble.

"I will need to enter the inner reserve room, where the more dangerous hollow texts and records are kept. Penetration of the protections around it may bring the guards down on us, but there is no choice if we are to rid ourselves of the hougyoku. We shall see when I breach the inner defenses. I would take you in with me, but the dangers within, from the restrained ancient texts are even greater than the threat from the hollows that are likely to attack if an alarm is sounded. You will need to use your full powers if that happens. Aim to kill. Do not hold back. And do not worry about fair play. You are in the hollow world, Tetsuya. And if you want to live, then you must learn to fight them on their level!"

"I understand."

"Master?" said Kyouka Suigetsu, as the zanpakutou appeared beside Tetsuya, "Do you wish for me to remain here to protect the barriers as well? One shinigami...against hundreds of hollows, if the alarm sounds..."

Aizen studied the spirit for a moment, their last conversation repeating in his mind.

_If you had any sense, you would kill him humanely while he sleeps._

"No," he told the spirit, "You are to come with me. You will maintain the seal on the texts while I study them. Do not concern yourself with the incoming hollows. Tetsuya will have the advantage of a closed fighting space against the greater numbers, and he has a zanpakutou that can easily confront large numbers of enemies. He will be all right on his own."

The spirit's eyes glinted rebelliously, but he gave Tetsuya a final, dark glance and followed Aizen to the chamber door. Aizen's eyes fixed on Tetsuya's slender back as the noble released his weapon and a sea of waterforms appeared in the outer archive. Then, he whispered a second command to the weapon and a thick barrier of ice filled the outer room, holding the waterforms inside it. He glanced back at Aizen and nodded, then fixed his attention on the ice barrier and waited.

Aizen studied the protections on the inner archive door and discovered immediately that the device had been altered. And he knew that meant that the hollows had anticipated his return, and the possibility that he would seek to destroy his devilish creation.

"Of course, they don't want me to do that," he muttered, carefully studying the lock mechanism, "Because even if there isn't one among them that is strong enough to wield it, just having possession of it would enhance the powers of their new king."

He wondered if he should, perhaps, kill the new hollow king before leaving the fortress, but decided that addressing him before he was free of the hougyoku would draw too much attention and doing so afterwards would only steal precious, much needed time away.

"Yes," once I free myself of the hougyoku and release the seal on my powers, I will be sensed. If they haven't already discovered that the one in that cell in Central 46 is a mere illusion, then they will find out then, and the chase will be on."

He thought briefly of the lovely, virgin shinigami standing a short distance behind him, with his comely blue eyes fixed on the ice barrier.

_Yes, I want to leave time for that, ne?_

Thinking even briefly about deflowering the deliciously innocent noble sent a soft jolt through his loins and made his heart quicken. He brought himself quickly back under control again as he continued to test the lock on the inner door. Finally, he let his reiatsu surround it, then sink into it. He waited for a breathless moment, and nothing happened. The room remained quiet and still. He glanced over his shoulder and met Tetsuya's eyes briefly.

"It appears to have worked," he said softly, "But do not assume anything. Be on your guard."

Tetsuya nodded and turned back to the ice barrier.

Aizen pushed his reiatsu into the locking mechanism and twisted it to open the lock. A loud click sounded in the too still room, making a soft chill pass through the two shinigamis. But still, there was no sound of an attack. So, Aizen slowly opened the door and passed into the inner archive. Tetsuya watched as the door closed again between them.

The noble made his breathing silent and stood still, his blue eyes the only thing that moved as he stood sentry on the outer archive. He thought he heard an odd buzzing, but wasn't sure if the sound was real or only a reflection of the deep silence. He extended his senses around him and felt a small presence somewhere nearby.

_Re-kuhime?_

The zanpakutou in his hand pulsed softly.

_I cannot center on the source, but I sense something also. I would suspect something small and fast. It will be difficult to stop when it decides to make its move._

The noble let out a soft breath.

_We'll need to set protective waterforms. You will sense it moving before I will, so do not hesitate._

He felt a soft hum of anxiousness from the spirit in his blade.

_Do not allow it to strike you twice. Move quickly._

Tetsuya gave her an inward smile.

_I will._

He moved slowly then around the area inside the ice barrier, his breath freezing, but feeling perfectly at ease in the icy coldness, and placing several nearly invisible waterforms as he went. When he was done, he returned to the inner archive door and set it at his back. He relaxed body and mind, and extended his senses again.

 _It waits for something_ , said the internal voice of his blade's spirit, _Perhaps it waits for him to come out._

Tetsuya let out a slow, misted breath.

_I find that most likely. Be prepared. Do not lower your guard for a moment. That is all it will take._

XXXXXXXXXX

"You found the way to part yourself from the hougyoku very swiftly," noted Kyouka Suigetsu, "Are you certain that you have not been misled?"

"I have not," said the former leader of the hollows, "The hougyoku wishes this separation as much as I do. It had no power to simply grant the wish, but it knew where the answers could be found and guided me to them. But...that said, the hougyoku will act quickly, once we are separated. Though it still lingers under the seal, it is capable of alerting others to its presence. It will call the hollows. It wants the hollows to take it from me. They will stop at nothing to release the seal on it. Therefore, we will have to work quickly, once it is separated from my soul. We must leave the fortress at once and go to Utsuro no Tamina...the chasm of emptiness. It is the only place where I can seal it off from the exterior worlds and destroy it completely without harming our worlds in the process."

"Just be certain that you are not within the valley when you loose that final attack."

"I have a plan for that," said Aizen, "You know of Tetsuya Kuchiki's waterforms?"

"I do."

"We will set waterforms and hide them, using our illusions, outside the chasm and then I will seal the two of us inside, but once I loose my attack, we will use the waterforms to escape."

"Very crafty," said the zanpakutou spirit, "But what if he is not strong enough to survive to reach the valley?"

"Then I will have to find another way to pass through the seal or be caught up in the blast and die, along with the hougyoku."

"So...you are going to allow your fate to rest in the hands of that man," observed the spirit, "that weaker creature? It seems a reckless departure from what you said before about never again letting your destiny fall into hands too weak to protect it."

"Tetsuya's power is the specific power I need. I am not above using the power of others as I see fit to achieve my goals. I have done that many times in the past."

"But...he could simply choose not to grant it at a critical moment. One might call it foolish to place that much trust in someone, just because you have feelings for him. You should remember what happened when you did that before."

"I haven't forgotten what happened before, Kyouka Suigetsu," Aizen replied, eyeing the spirit for a moment, "I will not forget. But has it occurred to you that trusting no one and nothing can also be disastrous? When I fought Ichigo, the reason I lost was because taking that path became too solitary. In the end, I let go of the power that separated me from all others. And because of that moment of weakness, that moment of longing for connection, the hougyoku's power abandoned me, allowing Urahara's spell to activate. The only option now is to cautiously entrust this to him. I have watched him carefully. I read him well. He will not betray me. In any case, I haven't found another option."

"But I have," said the zanpakutou.

He lifted a small book he had been holding and Aizen read the page he had opened it to. His eyes darkened.

"I see." he said quietly.

"So Tetsuya Kuchiki can be useful in that way as well...if you do not defile him. The wicked spirits love purity, and he is pure. So, as you see, you needn't depend on him."

"You would have me spill his virgin blood for them instead?" Aizen asked in a low voice, "Yield his pure soul to them to live in torment for all eternity...?"

"In exchange for the destruction of that thing that caused you to abandon me!" the spirit cried angrily, "It convinced you to let me crumble away into nothing! ME! A part of your own soul! I would give anything to see it destroyed...anyone!"

"That is quite obvious," said Aizen, "However, you are forgetting that the presence of the hougyoku could cause those same spirits to betray me. And they are more likely to than he is."

"So you say," said the zanpakutou spirit icily, "But even though he does not betray you, he can still fail you by proving too weak."

"He will not fail me."

"So you are going to give in to him? To lie down with him and entrust yourself to him? Didn't you say...? Didn't you promise that you would never be so reckless again? Need I remind you...?"

"No. You do not need to remind me. I remember all too well. I have spent every moment since that time making myself stronger, keeping myself carefully distant, killing anyone who tried to come close."

"But you will not kill him."

"No. I will use his powers and then I will free him."

"And you think that will be enough to protect us?"

"Yes."

The zanpakutou spirit seethed silently, glaring at the shinigami as he calmly read the text in front of him.

"You are a fool. And we are going to die because of it!"

"We are not going to die," Aizen said quietly, "And neither is he. Now, hand me that book on the end. I have what we need. It is time to begin the separation. Hold the shield carefully. We should be able to do this without alerting the hollows."

Kyouka Suigetsu said nothing, but carefully surrounded them in his illusions, then watched as Aizen's lips moved in the form of an incantation. Red light began to glow as he uttered the words. He paused, making his reiatsu curl around the hougyoku until it was barely visible.

Kyouka Suigetsu looked on, his green eyes glittering. He heard a soft footstep outside the door and frowned at the reminder that Tetsuya waited alone outside of the room.

_I almost wish the alarms would sound, just so that he would be out of our way. I don't like how strong the connection between them is growing. Why am I never enough for him? Why does he always find someone else? First, there was that councilor, then the hougyoku...and now...him!_

Aizen's lips moved, giving the incantation for another spell, then the light around the hougyoku pulsed and throbbed fitfully.

_At least that damned stone will be gone soon. And if I'm lucky, that shinigami will die before the end of this. Then, he won't need anyone else anymore. He will only rely on me, as he did before these others interfered. We were so closely bonded before. I never even thought for a moment, that he would let me go...let me crumble and disappear. I don't know how I survived. It seemed sheer force of will..._

The cursed stone flickered, and Kyouka Suigetsu could feel its rising anger.

_Yes._

_It hurts to be rejected._

_Discarded..._

_You were laughing as I crumbled, but I will be the one laughing when we reach the chasm. You and that shinigami are going to die, and no one will ever toy with us and break our trust again!_

The hougyoku trembled beneath the seal, the voices of the tormented souls inside it shrieking as the pressure around it increased, and it slowly emerged from Aizen's body.

_Yes! Scream. Cry. Plead with all of your dying heart, like I did when he discarded me. Crumble. Break apart! I want you to hurt like I did! I want you to die! I want him to be bonded with me again..._

The stone paused in the air, just outside of Aizen's chest, and there was a feeling of binding, of wrapping around and hiding away. A small white shroud formed in the air and wrapped around the hougyoku. And slowly, its voice faded from Kyouka Suigetsu's mind.

That is one obstacle cleared. We only need to destroy it and the shinigami and the way is clear.

"I believe we have managed to do this without triggering the alarms," said Aizen, nodding in approval, "You have not lost your touch...Kyouka Suigetsu."

The words fell like silk over the troubled spirit's heart, and he gave his master a tentative smile.

"It begins to feel like old times," he said softly, enjoying the genuine affection in Aizen's gaze.

"I would like for us to return to what we were before," Aizen said, placing the hougyoku in his breast pocket, "I know that it will take time for that, but...after the hougyoku is destroyed..."

He left the sentence hanging, but even that much was enough to soothe his zanpakutou. They returned to the door together and passed through it, still warmed by the enounter. But immediately upon entering the outer chamber and feeling the chill of Tetsuya's ice barrier fall over them, both sensed that something was not right.

Tetsuya appeared in front of them in a blazing flash step, his sword slashing down at something small and blindingly fast as it flew at Aizen's unprotected chest.

_He is no longer immortal..._

But it was too late to do any more than watch as the shinigami's blade cut the tiny hollow in half. Half of it dropped to the ground as the other half plunged into Tetsuya's exposed midsection. The blue-eyed shinigami made a guttural sound of surprise and pain and pitched forward oddly. Then, as Aizen's arms captured him, Tetsuya dropped to his knees, his sword dropping from his nerveless hand and clattering to the floor.

"Tetsuya..." Aizen managed in a stunned whisper as the stricken shinigami fell back, his chest heaving with the effort to draw a breath.

_Poison!_

Kyouka Suigetsu stared at them dazedly. He should have been happy. He should have been elated. But neither of those emotions reached him as he watched Tetsuya writhe and begin to fall still in Aizen's arms. His beautiful eyes glazed over and his lips parted to release two last, desperate words.

"Sh-shussui, Re-ku...hime!"

Kyouka Suigetsu looked on in dismay.

_He...sacrificed himself?_

_For his captor?_

_Why?_

_Why did he do this?_

_And why could I not be the one?_

_Why couldn't I die for him?_

He watched with devastated eyes as Aizen pulled the fallen shinigami to his shoulder, resting his face against Tetsuya's and looking as if a day hadn't passed since that first councilor had died in his arms.

And as he sensed the pain that blossomed in his master's heart, he felt himself crumble inside.

And strangely, it felt no different than when Aizen had let go of him and let him fade away.

_Master..._

_Master, I am...sorry._

_No wonder you let me go..._


	9. While I have the Breath to Say the Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen refuses to accept that Tetsuya is going to die, and goes in search of one who can help to save him.

"S-sousuke..." Tetsuya whispered, almost soundlessly.

"Why?" Aizen asked in an eerily calm, quiet voice, as he held Tetsuya against his shoulder, "Why would you sacrifice your life to protect mine?"

Tetsuya looked at him through dazed, slitted eyes, his words broken and halting.

"You s-seem more upset about...how I choose to d-die, than that I am leaving you, S-sousuke. Is it not, a more honorable way, than t-to force you to kill me yourself, later?"

"I told you I would let you go," Aizen said, brushing the stray hairs away from his eyes, "I planned to make that blood oath in good faith, Tetsuya."

"I did not...need to make an oath," Tetsuya panted, sweat breaking out on his forehead, "I gave my word...and...I will honor it, b-blood or no blood. You are...m-mortal now. And if you are...to destroy the hougyoku, then...you have to live. You...do not need me."

Aizen sighed.

"Actually...I do. I was planning to make use of your waterforms in my plans. I am afraid that I simply cannot allow you to die, just yet."

Tetsuya smiled weakly.

"I think that...you and I know the...path of my fate now, Sousuke," he whispered, touching the other man's face with trembling fingers, "Were you not prepared all along for this to end with my last breath?"

There was a shimmer in the air, then Aizen and his still reeling zanpakutou stared in surprise as Tetsuya's weapon glowed softly for a moment, and a lovely, elflike female, with sapphire eyes, very pale blue skin, variant shades of blue clothing and nearly translucent wings, appeared and calmly knelt at Aizen's side.

"Master," she whispered, as Aizen lowered the barely conscious noble so that his head rested in her lap.

Her slender fingers stroked his hair gently.

"Re-kuhime," he said in a shaky whisper.

"That spell," said Aizen, "Can it stave off the poison? Cure it?"

"No," answered the woman, "The purpose of that release is merely to slow the absorption of the poison into his systems, allowing him to continue fighting. That he is so weak, even after the infusion is a reflection of the strength of the poison. Had he not managed the release, he would be dead already. As it is..."

She broke off as Tetsuya's voice sounded, barely audibly.

"There...is very little time. I will...linger as long as I can. Leave me here and...t-take Arashi. He will survive for a short time after I am gone..."

"I am not leaving you."

"Y-you have no choice," Tetsuya whispered, touching Aizen's lips, "The...poison will take me quickly, and Re-kuhime will remain to see me to the end. I will not...be alone. Take Arashi, as I said. You...must have realized, ne? When he first attacked you in the precipice world, he used a barrage of ice blades. He...can use Re-kuhime's powers, as I do. He can help you."

Tetsuya's blue eyes opened wider and fixed on him.

"Sousuke, time is short. I can only receive three infusions from my zanpakutou, then the poison will...have its way with me. You...must go now...quickly, so that Arashi can help you...as I would. I cannot guarantee how...long I will survive. If there was a source...of water...a lake or stream, I could...slow it more, but this being Hueco Mundo..."

"A source of water, you say?" repeated Aizen, "Tetsuya, I might be able to find one for you. If I do, how long can you survive?"

Tetsuya's lips tightened and he shook his head grimly.

"I cannot say. This poison is unnaturally strong. Normally, I would have...been back on my feet, almost at once, after an infusion...but I can...hardly m-move. And, in any case, it does not matter. I am...useless to you in this state. Go, Sousuke. You must go now."

Aizen's brow furrowed and he thought for a moment. He reached out and picked up Tetsuya's zanpakutou and returned it to its sheath, then lifted the injured noble into his arms.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Tetsuya objected, "You can't take me with you! I'll only slow you down."

"Shh, rest a bit. You are weary."

"But, don't you understand?" the noble insisted, his eyes growing feverish and his voice wavering, "If you want Arashi to be able to..."

"I am just taking you somewhere safe. Hold still and be quiet."

He nodded to the two zanpakutou spirits.

"Come with me."

Re-kuhime glanced at Kyouka Suigetsu, her eyes curious, then she turned to follow Aizen. Kyouka Suigetsu released a soft, regretful breath and joined them.

Tetsuya let his head rest against Aizen's shoulder and closed his eyes. He heard the ice barrier he had created crack and shatter, and felt himself being carried through the hallways and rooms. Aizen paused and Tetsuya opened his eyes.

"A dead end," he said softly.

"No," Aizen answered, "A concealed room."

He touched the wall, then stepped through into a bright, sunlit place. Tetsuya could still sense the boundaries of the chamber, but they looked to have left Hueco Mundo altogether.

"Is this...an illusion?" Tetsuya asked in a stunned whisper.

"The sun and sky are an illusion, and the chamber is made to look as though it goes on in all directions. But...the flowers and plants, the grass, the pool and waterfalls...all are real. I had this place made so that, amidst the dreariness of my banishment here, I might have a retreat, a place to go to re-energize myself."

"It is...lovely, Sousuke," said the noble, "I am grateful to you for not letting me die someplace dark."

Aizen set him down beneath a sakura tree, next to the large pool and waterfalls. He knelt next to the noble as Kyouka Suigetsu and Re-kuhime watched silently from a short distance away.

"Tell me," said Aizen, "You said before that if you were brought to a place where there was water, you could slow the poison even more."

"Hai," Tetsuya confirmed, his eyes blinking wearily, "There is a variant of my 'Nawaka shima' release that will freeze my body, slowing my metabolism to a crawl and creating more time for you to complete your mission."

"How does it work?"

"You must take my sword and sheathe it in my body, while I lie beneath the surface of the water. Give the command...and my body, and the water around it will freeze."

Aizen nodded briefly.

"Sousuke," the noble went on, "I would ask one more thing of you."

Aizen's brown eyes met his questioningly.

"When...the hougyoku is destroyed, I ask that you return me to my cousin."

"Tetsuya..."

The noble smiled and touched his fingers to the other man's lips to stop him.

"Byakuya needs to know the truth...to have closure. Please, Sousuke, promise me that you will make sure that I am returned to my home when you have successfully destroyed the hougyoku."

Aizen's eyes softened in understanding and he nodded again.

"You have my word," he replied quietly, kissing the noble's trembling lips, "When the hougyoku has been destroyed, I will see that you are returned to your home."

Tetsuya smiled and laced his fingers together with Aizen's.

"Thank you, Sousuke," he whispered, "I can leave with a peaceful heart, knowing this. Now...take me into the water."

Aizen gazed at him wordlessly, for a moment, then lifted him again and waded out into the middle of the pool. He stopped when he was waist deep in the water, and gently lowered Tetsuya into it, then held him at the surface and met his lips in a long kiss of parting.

"I have to confess something before you go," Tetsuya said softly, "It is something that I could not say before, but I'll say it now."

He went silent as a sudden throb of kido left him immediately senseless. Aizen's smiled, watching as the noble's eyes closed and he went limp.

"You know what he was going to say to you," said Re-kuhime, frowning, "Why did you stop him? Should you not have allowed a dying man his last words? What are your intentions, Sousuke Aizen?"

Aizen glanced up at her, then let his eyes rest on Tetsuya again.

"My intentions," Aizen said, "are that I am going to leave the two of you with him. I want you to watch over him and see no further harm comes to him...until I return."

"You are going to go to that chasm without me?" queried Kyouka Suigetsu, a look of devastation in his green eyes, "Master..."

"I am going to bring someone who can heal him," Aizen said.

"But the Gotei 13 and Central 46 will have sensed your reiatsu when you separated yourself from the hougyoku. They will be on their way here," objected Re-kuhime, "You cannot stay here, and if you go, you most certainly cannot return."

"I am not concerned with their attempts to apprehend me. They cannot imprison me again. I won't let them."

"But in the time since they captured you, they have certainly prepared themselves to face us in the case that you escaped," argued Kyouka Suigetsu, "It is reckless to assume that they do not have some plan..."

"Their plans will not alter mine," Aizen said firmly, "That man saved my life, and I am going to return the favor. Now, let us waste no more time."

He bent and retrieved Tetsuya's blade from its sheath, then stood over the noble as Re-kuhime waded out and steadied Tetsuya in the water. Her wide blue eyes watched intently as Aizen raised the blade, point down, over Tetsuya, then drove it down into his body. Bright blue light exploded around them, and Re-kuhime pulled her hands away as Tetsuya's body recoiled around the blade, but expelled no blood, and then sank down into the water. Aizen's hands remained clenched around the hilt of Tetsuya's sword as Re-kuhime exited the pool and waited alongside Kyouka Suigetsu.

"Nawaka shima," breathed Aizen, staring down at Tetsuya's impaled body, his closed eyes and slightly parted lips, then backing away to the water's edge.

A hissing sound rose around the pool, and an odd mist curled up off the surface. The air around them grew colder, until their breath came out in white puffs around their noses and mouths. The water went eerily still, freezing slowly from the center of Tetsuya's body outward. The brown-eyed shinigami and the two zanpakutou spirits watched intently as the spell completed itself, leaving Tetsuya frozen and surrounded in the blue ice.

"Is he all right?" Aizen asked Re-kuhime, "Did he survive that?"

The spirit nodded.

"He sleeps," she assured him, "But you must hurry if you wish to save his life. Go now, Sousuke Aizen. Do not delay."

He disappeared in a seething flash step, leaving the two zanpakutou spirits gazing at the empty space where he had been.

XXXXXXXXXX

Aizen appeared in the fortress courtyard, still unseen by the hollow guards, but fully revealed to Arashi, who came at him in a hard gallop, slowing just enough for the shinigami to vault onto his back. The stallion sensed his will, and turned, then stretched out into a hard run, rocketing forward at flash step speed and making the lighted part of the desert disappear behind them. And as Arashi carried him towards his destination, Aizen's mind unwillingly returned to that other time, that place and person he had erased so many years before. The man's face assaulted his mind, and then his heart, and he wondered at himself for letting Tetsuya revive what had been long dead, both in his heart, and in the worlds they lived in.

_He walked into the councilor's office, and found him sitting at his desk, poring over a file, his blue-gray eyes intense. He sensed the youth's entrance and looked up at him appraisingly. Sousuke was instantly entranced by his comely face, porcelain skin and the friendly expression on his handsome face._

_"You are the boy?" he asked, his gentle eyes taking the youth in and making him feel instantly at ease._

_The councilor stood and extended a slender, pale hand._

_"I am Yasu Itoku," he said, warmly, "I have been assigned to assess your abilities, as they have attracted the attention of Central 46. Your name is Sousuke, ne?"_

_"It is," the youth said, accepting the councilor's extended hand._

_And immediately, he knew that this man was more than simply a bureaucrat._

"What was I thinking," whispered Aizen, "taking this shinigami into my world and letting him so far inside? When did I become so very reckless? Have I learned nothing from what happened before?"

_"You have amazing abilities!" exclaimed Yasu, with a pleased expression, "I am certain, Sousuke, that whatever you plan to do, you will achieve it. You are going to be a formidable shinigami! I will forward the results of our sessions to the council immediately."_

"And, like that man, Tetsuya truly believes that his efforts can make a difference. But we know the truth, ne Yasu? We know what happens when men come face to face with power they fear they cannot control..."

_"I could not believe my ears!" Yasu said in a shocked tone, "Sousuke, it is like they wouldn't hear a thing I said...as though all they could see was a boy who was already too strong for them to handle. They don't know you as I do. They have no idea!"_

_The councilor's blue-gray eyes sought his, and he read the broken-heartedness, the devastation at a betrayal that he had not seen coming._

_"I won't let them," Yasu went on, placing his hands on the youth's shoulders, "Sousuke, we are going to get out of here, and I will keep you safe from them. I won't let them hurt you!"_

_"No," the youth replied, placing his arms around the councilor and meeting his stunned lips with a sudden kiss, "We won't let them hurt us!"_

_"Sousuke..."_

_He claimed the councilor's lips again and smiled as slender arms wrapped around him and the handsome noble sank more deeply into his embrace._

"It has come full-circle, hasn't it, Yasu?" he breathed as the black desert flashed by in a blur.

_"Stop it! Stop! Don't!" cried Yasu, throwing himself between the youth and the attacking councilors, "He has done nothing to any of you! Have you lost your senses? Have you forgotten about justice entirely?"_

_He was forced backwards by the intensity of the incoming kido spells, but held them off and continued to try to reason with them. Sousuke watched intently, his reiatsu rising warningly. Yasu turned and met his eyes pleadingly._

_"Don't, Sousuke! Don't let them turn you into the very thing they accused you of..."_

_He broke off as one of their attackers launched a kido blast at near point blank range. He seemed to turn in slow motion, his eyes meeting Sousuke's one last time as his body absorbed the blow meant for the youth. The beautiful blue-gray eyes he had looked into so many times went wide and black with pain._

_"Run, Sousuke!" he gasped, dropping to his knees, "Leave me!"_

_He wrapped an arm around Yasu's slender waist, capturing him and holding him close as his powers roared to life and made them disappear from the other councilors' awareness._

_"Where did they go? Find them!"_

_He flash stepped away, knowing that there was nowhere to go. As long as he lived, they would pursue him. Wherever they ran..._

_"S-sousuke?" Yasu managed in a weak voice._

_He slowed and stopped in the momentary safety of a small bit of forest. He laid Yasu down on the ground and leaned over him, extending his hands over the councilor's heavily bleeding chest. Blood leaked warningly from the man's nose and mouth and his body quivered. Healing power flared around his palms. Yasu watched quietly for a moment, then carefully pushed his hands away._

_"It...is no use," he whispered, "You...cannot heal me. Sousuke, I am sorry. I did not realize they would react as they did to your powers. And I have failed in my efforts to protect you from them. So much of our society is based upon fear and mistrust. One like me...one who believes in truth...sincerity...honor. I was so naive, Sousuke. Had I been older and wiser when we met, I never would have let them know about you. I gave you away to them, and I will forever regret that!"_

_"Stop," he whispered, shaking his head, "Don't blame yourself for what they did. You didn't do anything wrong, Yasu. You were as much their victim as me."_

_"I love you, Sousuke," he panted, his voice weakening, "I wish that..."_

_His eyes glazed over and he went still in the youth's arms._

_"Yasu..." he whispered, pulling the councilor to his shoulder._

Aizen quivered inside as Tetsuya's face and voice seemed to superimpose themselves over Yasu's.

_I erased those things from existence for a reason...for many reasons. I swore I would never yield my trust to another living soul...because relying on someone else is something that only the weak must do. I have thought, since losing Yasu, that strong people must stand alone or be reduced in strength...and it would seem, as I try so desperately to protect Tetsuya's life, that relying on him for anything was a dastardly mistake._

_But...somehow...I just can't look at it that way anymore._

_Why?_

He angled himself towards a cave in the distance, and lowered himself against Arashi's back as the stallion raced on.

_What has this man done to me?_


	10. End of Solitude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen races against time to save Tetsuya's life.

"How is Byakuya doing?" Renji whispered, glancing over at the noble where he stood at Tetsuya's graveside, gazing off into the distance, "I know he and Tetsuya were really close. He told me about how he rescued Tetsuya from that prison when they were kids."

"He's not doing well at all," Rukia said, brushing tears away from her eyes, "My cousin may have, at one time, been looked down on for his mixed blood, but Renji, he came so far, and really conquered a lot of hatred and misunderstanding in the short time he was here. Anyone who ever met him sensed he was different."

Renji wrapped his arm around his grieving friend and kissed her on the top of her head.

"You might have expected that someone who had been treated the way he was...the way all of those prisoners were," Rukia went on, "that he would have been angry...vengeful, that he would have struck out at others in retaliation for what was done to them. But that was never Tetsuya's way. He was very quiet, shy really, but once Byakuya connected with him, he decided that, while he couldn't undo what had been done, he could fight the attitudes and lies that led to the half-bloods being persecuted as they were."

She sniffed and rubbed her eyes again.

"I really can't believe he died this way, Renji. Just...so suddenly. He was in perfect health, happy, and about to tear down another of the walls that tried to hold him back. I know they would have made him a council member in the end, Renji."

"Yeah, he was real special. I felt that too. He was quiet, but you could tell that his mind was always busy. And there's nothing he wouldn't do for Byakuya."

"I...I'm so glad that my brother has you!" Rukia exclaimed, bursting into tears, "He was really lost for a long time after my sister died, and it was Tetsuya who was closest to him during that time. My brother doesn't let a lot of people inside, b-but he and Tetsuya had no b-barriers between them. He's going to need you to get through this Renji. He'll act like he's okay. He'll say he is fine, but he isn't fine. And now, you're the only one close enough to get him to let it out. He'll be honest with you, Renji, because he really loves you."

Renji hugged Rukia tightly as she struggled to regain control and brushed the tears away. She swallowed hard and sniffed several times, then took a breath and straightened.

"Look," said Renji, "Why don't you go and spend some time with Orihime and the others? I will take a walk with Byakuya and see if I can't get him to talk a little."

"Okay," Rukia sighed, giving the redhead and final hug, "I'll show them to their rooms. They're all staying over tonight."

Renji watched with troubled eyes as she walked away, then moved to join Byakuya at Tetsuya's graveside. He stood alongside the silent noble and slipped a warm hand into Byakuya's, then followed his gaze to the portrait of the younger Kuchiki cousin, sadly noting the kind, smiling expression that Tetsuya had so often worn in his presence.

"I'm going to miss him too," he said, squeezing Byakuya's pale hand and feeling a shiver at the tension in the noble as he worked to maintain stiff control of his emotions, "He was a really great guy...down to earth, do anything for you, tough fighter, and probably the most loyal friend a guy could have."

Byakuya said nothing, but tightened his hand in Renji's to show he had heard. He swallowed hard, and turned with the redhead, then left the cemetery and walked back out onto the forest trail. They followed it to the gate that led into the family gardens, then continued past and walked slowly up to the waterfall, where it overlooked the lake and open meadow. They settled beneath a sakura tree, and Renji waited quietly as the wheels turned in Byakuya's reeling mind.

"Arigato, Renji," the noble said finally, "The past few days have been nearly unbearable. And without you at my side, I cannot imagine I could have coped as I did."

"Hey, it's nothing," the redhead said, kissing him lightly on the cheek, then on the mouth, "I have been where you are a few times...well, not with a relative, but with friends, when I lived in the Rukongai. It's hard to make sense of it all..."

Byakuya's lips tightened.

"It doesn't make any kind of sense, Renji. Tetsuya had undergone physical testing recently and was in perfect health. And I saw him just as he left for Central 46. He looked and acted perfectly normal."

"And they didn't find anything there that could account for what happened," Renji added, "Everyone thought it was suspicious that it happened while Aizen was being moved, but they couldn't find any evidence of poison or reiatsu consistent with an attack."

"No," agreed the noble, "I was really expecting them to find something, somewhere...somehow...that would help explain this. But this is beyond both explanation and comprehension. My head accepts that he has left us, but my heart still feels him there."

"Because that is where he is, now that he can't be with us," Renji said, curling his arm around Byakuya and bringing his head to rest on a strong shoulder.

Byakuya closed his eyes and took slow breaths, trying to restore some sense of calm inside.

"This isn't the way I saw things ever ending if they had to," he whispered, "This is so...senseless, Renji."

They went quiet then, looking out over the darkening meadow, and almost seeing Tetsuya astride Arashi and racing through the long grass, the reiatsu glowing blue all around them.

_Goodbye, watashi no itoko._

_At very least, your parting from us was swift and peaceful._

XXXXXXXXXX

Aizen watched from the meadow below the waterfall, as Renji helped Byakuya to his feet and led the grieving noble back towards the manor. He concealed his reiatsu carefully and followed, using his powers to hide himself from all eyes as he slipped in through the back gate and into the gardens. He was cautious, even having the use of his powers, as he knew that Ichigo was present, and as yet, had still not seen his shikai. He located the room that Orihime had been directed to, and waited inside as the girl sat in the gardens and spoke quietly with her friends. It was well into the night, when the nakama parted and moved into their rooms to settle down for the night. He remained concealed until Orihime had changed and stepped out of the bathroom, then he released his hold on her senses, and allowed himself to appear before her.

She gazed at him for one long, breathless moment, then put a hand over her mouth and went pale.

"Orihime," he said quietly.

"L-lord Aizen?" she managed softly, her eyes going wide and filling with fear, "But you are supposed to be...?"

"Locked away in Central 46, yes," he answered solemnly, "And until recently, I was. I was assisted in escaping by my manifested zanpakutou. He helped me to create a diversion, and we escaped the prison."

Orihime stared, her mind working quickly. Then, realization spread across her features, and she went even more pale.

"Th-then you...killed Tetsuya Kuchiki?" she whispered, "You killed him so that you could distract them?"

"No," said the brown-eyed shinigami, looking into the girl's eyes and watching closely as his very presence seemed to freeze her in place, "I did not kill Tetsuya Kuchiki."

"Then...?"

"Tetsuya saw through Kyouka Suigetsu's illusion, so my zanpakutou subdued him and we took him with us when we left the prison."

"And...wh-where is he now?" Orihime asked breathlessly, "Is he...? Did you hurt him?"

"I did not harm him. But he has been injured, and is badly in need of your healing power."

He reached into his breast pocket and retrieved the hougyoku. Orihime stared in silence as he unwrapped the binding on the crystal and held it up so that she could see it. He let the front of his shirt fall open so that she could see where the hougyoku had been housed.

"Look closely now," he said solemnly, Your senses are not being fooled. You may touch the stone so that you know what you are seeing is real."

Orihime hesitated, then stepped forward, swaying slightly on her feet. She first reached out and with the barest brushing of her fingertips, touched the hougyoku and felt the reality of its presence. Then, her fingers left the crystal and reached out again, gently extending and trembling as she touched the round scar where the hougyoku had been fused with him. Slowly, the disbelief in her eyes faded, and she returned her eyes to his.

"It is still sealed," she said softly, "but it is not fused with you any longer. How did you do this? Why? I thought that you were going to attack the king."

"That was my plan, then. And someday I may still follow that path, but when I do, I will do so under my own power and control. The hougyoku betrayed me. You may remember that, always when I asked others to follow me, I told them to follow, but not to trust. I discarded my own rule and trusted too much in the hougyoku. In the end, it exerted too much control, and I abandoned the trust I had yielded to it. This is why I failed in my quest to create the king's key. In the end, I was determined to separate myself from the hougyoku and destroy it."

"Is that why you are here?" the girl asked, catching her breath, "You want me to...?"

"You cannot destroy it," he told her, "I do need your help, but that is not the reason. It is your healing ability I need."

"H-healing...?"

"Tetsuya Kuchiki...Tetsuya is alive, and has been assisting me in my quest to separate myself from the hougyoku and destroy it. I had only just separated myself from the hougyoku and become mortal again, when Tetsuya was injured, protecting me from a poisonous hollow. He was poisoned, himself, and now lies unconscious and slowly dying in Las Noches. I have come to you to ask you to come back to the fortress with me, so that you can heal him. I will see that you are safely returned after that."

Orihime hesitated, her eyes moving from the hougyoku to the scar on Aizen's partially bared chest, then back again. She thought deeply as her former captor waited silently, his eyes calm and unblinking. Finally, she looked back into his eyes.

"Will you give me your word that you will allow Tetsuya Kuchiki to come home when he has finished helping you?" she asked, "There are a lot of people who love him, and they are all very sad, thinking that he died. They are suffering badly, and I want them to have hope that he will come home."

Aizen's lips curved upward and he slipped his fingertips underneath the girl's fine chin.

"You have a lovely, warm heart, Orihime. Perhaps if I had known someone like you earlier on, I might have had a very different fate."

He paused for a moment, gazing at her less frightened eyes.

"Will you go with me, then?" he asked, "If I give you my word that you will be returned safely, once Tetsuya is healed, and that I will release Tetsuya, unharmed, once the hougyoku is destroyed?"

Orihime studied him for several long, silent minutes, then took a steadying breath.

"There is something different about you, Lord Aizen," she observed, "Could it be because of him?"

Aizen's eyes blinked slowly and he did not answer immediately. When he finally did, his answer stunned Orihime all over again.

"Perhaps."

It was as much of an admission as he would ever give, and she knew it. Orihime gave a barely perceptible nod and accepted Aizen's extended hand. He led her out into the darkness and set her carefully on Arashi's back.

"Arashi," Orihime whispered, giving the stallion a gentle pat on the neck, "I had thought you had faded. I am glad to see you."

Aizen climbed up behind the girl and opened a garganta. The manor alarms began to ring as Arashi entered the black cavern that led to the hollow world. Voices and running feet sounded in the distance, but faded as the garganta closed.

"If we are attacked, allow Arashi and me to protect you," Aizen instructed Orihime, "You must arrive safely at Las Noches or Tetsuya Kuchiki's death will become a reality."

"I understand," Orihime answered, holding on tightly with her legs as Arashi charged through the darkness.

They went quiet, except for the sound of the stallion's hooves pounding on the rock floor of the cavern. They reached a place that seemed to satisfy Aizen, and emerged from an exit, out onto the dark sands. Arashi turned instinctively in the direction of the fortress, his long legs stretched out and his graceful neck extended.

As the horse ran on, Orihime stole a glance at Aizen's moonlit face, and the brown eyes that had instilled such fear in her before.

_It is not to say that he is any less a dangerous man, but something is different. It is not just that he has freed himself of the hougyoku. It is more profound than that. What could make a man like him change inside? Could it be this person he risked exposing himself to save? Why else would he go to such lengths to save him...using time he could be using to complete his mission and taking risks that could get him caught? C-could Sousuke Aizen...be in love?_

_Could he?_

_Ichigo said after the battle, that he sensed solitude...loneliness in Lord Aizen's blade. Is that what is different, then? He found someone to love, and has abandoned that solitude?_

_But what will happen if I cannot save Tetsuya Kuchiki?_

_I won't think about that._

_I will save Lord Kuchiki's cousin._

_I will!_

XXXXXXXXXX

Renji followed Byakuya into the noble's bedroom and quietly closed the garden doors. He walked into the dressing area and waved Torio off, then removed the noble's ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu, the kenseiken and fingerless gloves, then his formal kimono.

"Torio could have done that," Byakuya sighed, "You don't need to..."

"I wanted to," Renji said, taking a burgundy colored yukata and wrapping it around the noble's lean frame.

He quickly undressed himself and found one of his own yukatas that he had left there. They walked out of the dressing area together and slid into bed, then settled into each other's arms. Byakuya rested his head on Renji's shoulder, his dark gray eyes distant and somber as he remembered something that Tetsuya had said only days before his death.

Byakuya, it is not so often that one finds true happiness and contentment with a soul mate. You and Renji are very connected...very much in love. You should stop being so worried about what the elders will think and start thinking about making a life with this man who you love, while there is still time to partake of it. I think I remember a very wise cousin of mine telling me that there are no guarantees of the future, good or bad. Our focus must be always on bringing what beauty we can into our lives and into our worlds. That advice helped me to set aside the darkness that was the beginning of my life. It helped me to break down barriers and change things I never dreamed I could. I will live and die a free man now. And if I find a love like the one you share with Renji Abarai, I will hold on tightly and never let go.

"Tetsuya," Byakuya whispered soundlessly.

He was startled out of his thoughts by the shriek of the house alarms. In an instant, he and Renji were on their feet and racing out into the gardens. As they left the room, Byakuya looked in the direction of the back gate and blinked in surprise.

"What is it? Did you see something?" Renji asked.

"I couldn't have," Byakuya said softly, "Because...he should have faded by now. He couldn't be alive..."

"What?"

"Renji, just before that garganta closed, I think I saw Arashi go into it! And if Arashi is alive...then..."

Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Sousuke Aizen's reiatsu has been sensed within Kuchiki Manor!

"Aizen," exclaimed Renji, "How is that possible?"

He was barely able to keep up as Byakuya hastily opened a senkaimon and flash stepped away.


	11. Flurries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen makes a stunning confession and a request of Tetsuya.

Kyouka Suigetsu sat silently on the grass, beneath a sakura tree, looking down into the frozen pool where Tetsuya laid, unmoving and suspended. And as still as the ice was, the zanpakutou's heart stormed furiously inside him. Until recently, he had hated the noble for stealing his master's heart and leading him into such recklessness.

_But..._

_The truth is that Tetsuya Kuchiki was never the problem. The problem was, and still is between Sousuke and me. We began to turn a corner when we worked together to separate him from the hougyoku, but then..._

He saw again the expression on the young noble's face as he flashed stepped in between the attacking hollow and Aizen. There had been no trace of fear, of hesitation or anything but a fierce, driven desire to protect. And that instinct in Tetsuya was a mirror to his own heart. He wanted desperately to be there to protect his master, to offer his powers, to their mutual benefit as he had before. But instead, he was sitting at the edge of the pool, looking down at the surest sign of his failure.

_Had I not been so wrapped up in my own insecurities, I would have sensed the hollow sooner, and Tetsuya needn't have been injured at all._

He let out a soft sigh of resignation.

_But he was hurt...and now my master rides recklessly into the Seireitei to retrieve that girl. I have proven to be as useless as I feared._

"Kyouka Suigetsu," said the female zanpakutou's soft, almost musical voice, "You seem troubled. Is there anything that I can do to help?"

The green-eyed man gazed harder into the frozen water, shivering inwardly at the ice that seemed to have surrounded his heart.

"Why would you want to help me?" he responded without lifting his eyes, "You sense already that I have been your master's enemy. And I will say honestly, I attempted to convince my master to kill yours, and thereby, you. Why would you concern yourself with my emotional state?"

"Don't you feel it?" Re-kuhime asked, moving closer to him, "Our masters have fallen in love."

Kyouka Suigetsu's green eyes darkened and his frown deepened.

"Love?" he mused darkly, "My master and I abducted Tetsuya Kuchiki. We were a constant threat to his life. And we are no less dangerous to him now. How can your master feel anything but anger and dislike towards us?"

Re-kuhime gave the other zanpakutou a cryptic smile.

"My master is complicated," she explained, "He doesn't react to things the way other people do...and neither do I."

She moved closer to him, her cute, elflike face curious, and a sympathetic shine in her wide blue eyes.

"Sousuke Aizen hurt you very badly," she said softly, "didn't he?"

Kyouka Suigetsu swallowed hard and nodded.

"How am I supposed to feel when he discarded me without a second thought? Before he created the hougyoku, he depended on my power to protect him and to serve his needs. Afterwards, he hardly spoke to me. And in that final battle, he let me crumble. I started to die...but some part of me held on. I don't know why. I should have just died. I don't understand how or why I did not."

Re-kuhime smiled sadly and touched his face gently.

"You want to know how and why you survived?" she queried softly, "I can tell you, Kyouka Suigetsu."

He looked into her gentle, but surprisingly strong, dark blue eyes.

"You did not die for the same reason my master did not die in that prison he was raised in. And it is this one thing that connects you, Sousuke, Tetsuya and me."

Kyouka Suigetsu froze, waiting breathlessly.

"Hope," she whispered, "As long as we never give up, as long as we keep believing there is a chance...then we have hope of finding what we are searching for. You may have thought that you had given up when Aizen let go of you...but some part of you continued to hope that he would come back to you. You saw your opportunity to help him escape Central 46, and you bravely moved forward."

The male zanpakutou's green eyes blinked slowly and lit with a sad shine.

"I thought that everything changed after that. He was pleased that I freed him, and without me saying a word, he decided to do what I'd wished he would for ever so long! He was going to destroy it! And I felt like that would make us close again. If the hougyoku was gone, he would need my strength again. But...he found a new source of strength. I sensed right away that your master was powerful...and...I felt Sousuke's heart begin to turn in his direction. For me, it was like the hougyoku all over again. But, Tetsuya is even more of a threat to him, because he is weaker than Sousuke...and a person is only as strong as his weakest point. I tried to remind Sousuke of this...tried to convince him to kill that man. I know now that it was wrong to do that. But...I don't know how to help my master anymore. He doesn't seem to need me much at all."

"But now is when he needs you the most," insisted Re-kuhime, looking deeply into his eyes, "It is true that he is more powerful than my master, and now that they have fallen in love, my master could be used against him. It falls to us, their zanpakutous, to protect them to the best of our ability. Do not give up hope, Kyouka Suigetsu. Do not despair. You aren't alone anymore, even if he seems distant. And...you may lean on me, when things become difficult."

"You?" Kyouka Suigetsu asked quietly, "You want me trust you? You, who I plotted against? You who acts as the right hand of the man I betrayed and tried to have killed? Why should I trust you?"

Re-kuhime looked down into the ice at her frozen master.

"Because...as my master has chosen yours, I would gain nothing by hurting you. I would only be hurting him, in the long run."

Pain flashed across Kyouka Suigetsu's pale features, and he dropped to his knees by the edge of the frozen pool.

"That is what I did to my master!" he exclaimed, "By hurting your master, by plotting against him and wanting him to die, I hurt my own master! No wonder Sousuke hates me!"

Re-kuhime dropped to her knees and placed an arm around the distraught spirit.

"Your master doesn't hate you," she assured him, "And the two of you will rebuild what was lost. But you must stop beating up on yourself. It won't..."

She broke off as the door to the chamber burst open and Sousuke Aizen burst into the chamber, followed by a wide-eyed Orihime. Aizen met Re-kuhime's blue eyes questioningly.

"You are in time," she told him, "My master is still alive. I will release him from the ice, and then Orihime can heal him."

She walked out onto the ice and took hold of Tetsuya's blade, focusing on the ice around the noble.

"Kudakero," she said quietly.

The ice around Tetsuya's body shattered, breaking apart and becoming water again. Aizen waded out and watched as Re-kuhime slid the blade out of his body. He lifted Tetsuya's limp form into his arms and laid him gently at the edge of the pool. Orihime moved quickly to his side and activated her powers.

"Can you stop the poison?" asked Aizen in a concerned tone, "Can you save him?"

"Yes," Orihime promised, "Just remember what you promised me in return."

"You have my word."

XXXXXXXXXX

Warmth returned slowly to Tetsuya's body, washing over him in gentle waves as healing power sank down inside, finding the poison that had bonded with him and begun to overcome him. And although most forms of healing could not have separated the two, he recognized the human girl, Orihime's, unique 'reject' power and felt hope flood his heart.

_He risked himself too greatly. What if they had sensed him? What if they follow? Sousuke..._

Sensation returned gradually...first shivers of hot and cold, next sharp tingling all over, and finally, he could feel the restored rise and fall of his breathing. The disappearance of the poison was a great relief all around, but left its mark in weariness that sent him into a deep sleep, even as Orihime completed her work.

"O-or...hime," he managed weakly, "I am...grateful."

He was too far gone to hear her answer. He disappeared into sleep again, vaguely aware of being wrapped warmly in blankets and held close to someone. He smiled inwardly, sensing Aizen's presence, but at the same time, worry nagged at him.

_I am going to be all right now. Why does he wait to leave? If they are coming..._

"S-sousuke..." he whispered shakily.

"Shh...sleep," the other man whispered back, touching his face.

"But...they will...find..."

"No. We are safe here. Sleep."

He drifted off again, anchored warmly in Aizen's protective arms. It was odd, feeling so safe in the arms of a man who had been a threat to his life from the moment they met. But, now removed from reality and fully relaxed and focused, he could trace the path of their slow fall into infatuation...then into something that felt very much like love. He had never expected to fall in love at all, and couldn't have imagined he would fall in love with a man capable of such wickedness. And while he still despised the things that the man had done, he understood that there was logic...a pattern of cause and effect that had led to the man's choices. It did not excuse what he had done, but it took the behavior out of the realm of gratuitous behavior and made the path more comprehensible.

Tetsuya felt sensation returning, and opened his eyes. He found himself naked and still resting comfortably in Aizen's arms, the man's dark brown eyes watching him closely.

"It is time that I told you about Yasu Iitoku," Aizen said quietly.

Tetsuya shivered involuntarily, remembering Aizen's prior behavior when he had mentioned the name.

"Yasu was a young council member...a councilor of Central 46."

"But I studied council history. I don't remember encountering his name...but then you said..."

"That I erased him...yes. I had to...to protect his family's name. Yasu was a gifted, young councilor from a good and respected family. He was assigned the task of assessing my abilities when Central 46 became aware of my strong powers. They told him that it was merely to direct my growth, but the truth was much darker.

When he went before the council and told them about my great powers, the council deemed me 'too dangerous' and ordered my 'humane death.' Yasu was beside himself. He had no idea what they were about. So...he escaped with me, and we hid ourselves in the living world.

We became intimate, and some time later, we discovered that Yasu was pregnant. But a few months later, we were sensed...and they came after us. They cornered us, and Yasu was fatally injured, protecting me from them. I used my powers to take him and to escape...but he died in my arms. I didn't want the council to ruin his good name, so...I invoked the one power of Kyouka Suigetsu that I had never used...and that I have never used since. I erased him.

It is an illusion, of course...and if someone knew to seek the information, it could be found. However, everyone just seemed to accept the new reality that I created. And Yasu's family, who he died still loving, was protected as he would have wanted. I was also protected, in that their loss of memory about him, gave me a means of escape.

Afterwards, I decided that my mistake had been to love a person weaker than me. You asked me before, why it was so important for me that the one I love must be equal to me in strength, and I told you that a man is only as strong as his weakest point. But...as much as I have tried, I cannot let go of you. Like Yasu, you have a pure heart...and you are much too good for me. You should hate me for all I have done to you, and yet...you were willing to lay down your life for me. I can no longer allow myself the escape of distance. I have no choice but to embrace you. I owe you my life...and you have my heart, as reckless as it is for me to yield it.

So, while we have this short respite amidst our struggles, I will allow myself the comfort of your arms, and drown myself in your innocence. We will take a different kind of oath. I will bond myself to you, as I have to no other. I could not give this gift to Yasu, but I offer it to you, Tetsuya Kuchiki. Will you open your heart and be soul bonded with me?"

Tetsuya stared at him in shock.

"A soul bond?" he whispered, "But...?"

"You are not my equal in power, but your heart is greater than mine. Together, we create a balance. You have waited all of your life to open the doors to your heart, and I want you to bind your heart to mine."

"But...what about my family? My cousin? My life? My home in the Seireitei?" Tetsuya asked softly, "Must I leave everything behind?"

"No," Aizen replied, touching his face lightly, "You may return to them, and I will conceal our bond so that they will not sense it."

"But, if I return to them, then where does that leave you?" asked Tetsuya.

Aizen smiled.

"Do not worry over the details," he said, affection lighting his features, "Give yourself to me, Tetsuya. Bind your pure heart to mine. Tell me that you will."

Tetsuya closed his eyes as Aizen's mouth fell on his in a storm of powerful kisses. His mind went hazy, slowly revisiting the path they had taken on the way to falling in love.

"But it seems we have some loose ends," he commented, "Why did you include him?"

XXX

"He saw me," explained the zanpakutou, "I had no choice but to incapacitate him. Should I kill him?"

Aizen's brown eyes studied Tetsuya's collapsed and frozen form.

"No," he said finally, "He comes with us."

"Master?"

"He may be a loose end, but he will, perhaps, prove useful. Bring him."

XXX

"My zanpakutou will kill you immediately if you try anything," he warned Tetsuya, "And remember, you cannot kill me while the hougyoku is fused with me. You have no choice but to do as I say."

Aizen looked up as the sound of the cleaner rose up in the distance.

"Come now, let's be off."

Tetsuya met the traitor's brown eyes furiously for a moment, but then sighed in resignation and nudged the horse with his heels. He flinched as Aizen's arms wrapped around him.

"You are quite spirited," the brown-eyed shinigami observed quietly, "Both of you. I am rather glad I found a reason not to kill you, Tetsuya. I find you oddly interesting."

"I find you repulsive," Tetsuya said under his breath, bringing an amused smirk to Aizen's lips, "And I hope you die painfully."

"Spoken like a true member of the Kuchiki clan," the traitor said, shaking his head and tightening his arms around the noble.

XXX

"Remove your clothes," Aizen said, fixing his eyes on the noble.

"What?"

"You tried to escape," Aizen explained, "I mean to provide a bit of punishment, and a deterrent to future escape attempts. Take off your clothes."

Aizen watched closely as the young man undressed, then he undressed himself and stood facing Tetsuya.

"Lie down."

Tetsuya saw no point in resisting, so he climbed into the bed and watched quietly as Aizen placed their clothing in a closet and sealed the door.

"It is freezing outside. I wouldn't suggest wandering off," Aizen said, climbing into the bed, "Lie down."

Tetsuya dropped down onto his back, shivering as Aizen's naked arm brushed against him. Aizen studied him for a moment, then turned him to face away and wrapped his body around the noble's.

"Are you comfortable?" Aizen asked, turning off the light.

"I can't sleep with a poisonous snake wrapped around me," Tetsuya said, frowning and trying not to shiver.

"Ah...of course," said Aizen in a tranquil tone, "How thoughtless of me."

"B-bastard!" Tetsuya managed, as a soft jolt of kido sent him plunging back into darkness.

XXX

Tetsuya tried to conceal the shiver that went through his body.

"I have my eyes open," he said softly, "My heart will neither be fooled by you, nor broken by you. I know who you are."

"Yes," said Aizen, smiling up at Tetsuya as he watched the noble dress, "I am naked before you. I will never claim to be anything but what you see."

"But you can manipulate what I see," said the noble pointedly.

"Touché," said Aizen, standing up and dressing slowly as Tetsuya averted his eyes.

XXX

"Those councilors I killed...I should have killed them more painfully," he said finally.

They didn't make the rules at the prison," said Tetsuya, "And they probably didn't know all of what we endured."

"But they made policy that allowed those atrocities to happen to you."

He gave the noble a brief smile.

"No one should be denied the breathtaking experience of reaching orgasm, Tetsuya."

Tetsuya blushed and turned his face away.

"I could perhaps help you, you know," Aizen offered silkenly.

Tetsuya returned his smile.

"I would rather die," he said softly.

Aizen smirked.

"Whether I kill you or not, you are going to die eventually. Why not enrich the time that you have left by doing something truly celestial?"

"Please leave me alone."

"I can't let you die a virgin."

"Yes...you can. And I won't consider you heartless for doing so. In any case, I wonder if you are really so interested in me experiencing pleasure, or if you would just take pleasure in causing me pain while you satisfy yourself..."

"You cut me to the quick, Tetsuya."

"You deserve it."

Aizen's smile widened.

"Much of the time, yes...I do."

XXX

"Why won't you see me?" Tetsuya whispered, "I want to go home, Arashi. I want to sleep in my own bed and listen to the wind blowing in the trees outside my room. I want to hear the noises you make in the gardens...Byakuya's footsteps on the wooden walkway outside our rooms...birds...cicadas. I want to be where there is light again. I want to feel warm rays of sun on my skin and the cool water of the lake. And I want to feel safe...not imprisoned...free...not held against my will. Even if I step wrong and get hurt or killed, I want to know that I chose those steps willingly. I am dying inside, Arashi. Much longer with this man, in this awful place, and I will be a hollow too."

He felt a gentle hand touch his shoulder and froze.

"I understand," said Aizen's maddeningly calm voice, "and I do regret that you were the one I took with me. I would let you go now...but I need you to serve a greater purpose. And it is even one that you will find palatable, I think."

Tetsuya turned his head and met the other man's eyes questioningly.

"When we reach Las Noches, I will separate my soul from that of the hougyoku. Once that is done, I will be vulnerable to death. I want you to make a blood oath with me."

"What?"

XXX

"What is wrong?" he asked, resting his head lightly on Tetsuya's shoulder from behind.

Tetsuya was quiet for a moment, then yielded the truth with such a vulnerable expression, Aizen found himself inexplicably speechless.

"I know I should be used to your callousness, but sometimes...it cuts through to my heart anyway. Not that it matters, but some odd place inside me actually still holds out hope that you might have something resembling a heart, Sousuke Aizen...that it hasn't been hollowed out and disappeared like the hearts of the hollows you led. I know it's stupid, but..."

He froze as Aizen's lips claimed his in an unexpectedly gentle and affectionate kiss. His eyes were wistful as he met Tetsuya's again.

"Nothing about you is stupid," the brown-eyed shinigami said, his expression uncharacteristically serious, "And that one such as you would hold out any hope for one such as me is an unbearably rare and beautiful thing...as sweetly hopeless as it might be."

XXX

"So...is that why you are resisting my advances? Are you saving yourself for Byakuya?"

"I can't..."

"Kyouka Suigetsu could extend his powers to allow you to be with Byakuya without pain as well."

"Hmmm," said Tetsuya, glaring at him, "And what would Sousuke Aizen require in return? Perhaps to be first?"

Aizen smiled.

"You know me too well."

"Yes, I agree," snapped Tetsuya, "I would rather not know you at all and live with the pain and loneliness...and virginity!"

A look of realization spread over Tetsuya's face and anger flared in his sapphire eyes.

"YOU!" he shouted, "I can't believe you...!"

"I what?" asked Aizen, smirking as Tetsuya sat up and shoved him away.

"You Bastard! You said that your zanpakutou could extend his powers to Byakuya! That means that you didn't simply cure my condition, you only made it so that you were the only one who could touch me and have it not hurt!"

Aizen gave a nonchalant shrug.

"I prefer fidelity in my lovers," he said flippantly.

"I am not your lover!" cried Tetsuya, striking at him with a flurry of fists and kido.

XXX

"Are you afraid I might actually have honest feelings for you?" Aizen whispered, brushing their lips together again, "Or...could you be afraid that you are beginning to feel something for me in return?"

His fingers touched Tetsuya's lips, stopping his automatic reply.

"Do not speak. Kiss me."

Tetsuya's tormented eyes returned to his and he let out his breath in a shuddering sigh.

"I can't..."

Aizen's eyes narrowed and his lips quirked slightly.

"It's all right," he whispered, kissing Tetsuya's lips lightly, "You have already told me everything I needed to know."

XXX

"You have eluded love for so long," Tetsuya said, looking wistfully into Aizen's affectionate eyes, "Why me? Why now, are you going to abandon your solitude, Sousuke Aizen? Is it really worth it just to claim my virginity?"

Aizen laughed softly.

"If all I had wanted was your virginity, I could have had it long ago," he said, kissing Tetsuya again, then sinking languidly into the noble's widened sapphire eyes, "I want what is most precious to you...the one thing you have protected so carefully all of your life...not your body, your virginity or your delicious innocence, but that thing that is purest about you...the thing I lost long ago. I want your pure heart to beat in time with mine. I want to be bound to everything you are. Because if your pure heart can still hope that some part of mine exists...then truly your heart is stronger than mine and can beat for us both. Will you give me that gift? Will you give me your heart, Tetsuya?"


	12. Surrender to Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen and Tetsuya give in to their passions.

"You have eluded love for so long," Tetsuya said, looking wistfully into Aizen's affectionate eyes, "Why me? Why now, are you going to abandon your solitude, Sousuke Aizen? Is it really worth it just to claim my virginity?"

Aizen laughed softly.

"If all I had wanted was your virginity, I could have had it long ago," he said, kissing Tetsuya again, then sinking languidly into the noble's widened sapphire eyes, "I want what is most precious to you...the one thing you have protected so carefully all of your life...not your body, your virginity or your delicious innocence, but that thing that is purest about you...the thing I lost long ago. I want your pure heart to beat in time with mine. I want to be bound to everything you are. Because if your pure heart can still hope that some part of mine exists...then truly your heart is stronger than mine and can beat for us both. Will you give me that gift? Will you give me your heart, Tetsuya?"

Tetsuya gazed up at him, his blue eyes curious.

"Why do you even ask me this, Sousuke?" he queried softly, "You and I both know that you knew before I did, how you were breaking through my defenses. That is why I couldn't kiss you before, when you asked me to."

Aizen smiled.

"But you are not holding yourself back now," he noted, capturing Tetsuya's lips in a long, slow kiss, "Why is that?"

"You saved my life," Tetsuya said softly, "Before, you would have left me lying where I fell."

"You saved my life," Aizen replied, kissing him harder, "I owed you for that. Perhaps I was just repaying a debt."

"As much as your words suggest that," said Tetsuya, "your kiss tells me something very different."

"Oh?" said Aizen, gazing into his eyes warmly, "Is that so? Then, what does this tell you?"

He thrust his tongue into Tetsuya's mouth, and caught his breath at how easily the young noble yielded. He slid a hand down Tetsuya's slender torso, his eyes wondering at how instantly the younger man reacted, how his eyes hazed over, his back arched and he sighed sensuously at the strong invasion of his mouth.

"You accept this as you did not before," Aizen whispered, "Where before, you always turned away from my advances, now you meet them fearlessly. Are you less innocent than you admitted, young Kuchiki noble?"

A blushed touched Tetsuya's face and throat, and he gave Aizen a tentative smile.

"I am no less innocent than you expected," the noble answered, meeting Aizen's next long, lingering kiss hungrily, "I am merely more accepting of my fate."

"And why is that?" Aizen asked, pausing and running a finger over his flushed lips, "Are you not still a young noble? A representative of the proud house, Kuchiki? A future councilor of Central 46? And am I not still the devil, himself? How then, can you meet my lips so shamelessly?"

Tetsuya took a soft, steadying breath, his heart racing heedlessly.

"You watched me fall protecting you," he breathed, shivering involuntarily as Aizen's hand slid down over his slender abdomen and caressed a warm, inner thigh, "And you risked your newly returned mortal life to save me. If you have not changed by your association with me, then what is between us has changed. To be more succinct, up until this point, you have treated me as your captive, issuing threats to control my movements, and showing no concern for my well-being...yet now, you risk yourself to keep me from dying, and then ask me to make this decision of my own free will."

"I could still kill you in an instant," Aizen whispered.

"Yes," Tetsuya answered, "but I have come to accept that outcome as I did not before. Where before, I used to fear the movement of your hand in my direction, now I trust that it will either do me no harm, or dispatch me so quickly that I would not have time to suffer over my foolishness. You are the same man, still, but what is between us differs."

Aizen studied Tetsuya's lovely face, enjoying the strong reaction as he lightly teased the noble's sensitive genitals. Tetsuya closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in slowly and meeting another powerful kiss with equal intensity.

"Your lips may whisper lies to me still," the noble went on, "but your touch speaks the truth to my flesh, and where I did not understand and accept the truth before, I accept it wholeheartedly now. I could hate you for what you have done, but I choose to love you for who you are. You could kill me for the noble and counselor initiate I am, but you choose to embrace me for my purer soul. It falls to you to claim what I offer freely now. To answer your question, Sousuke Aizen, I do not have to yield my heart to you, because it yielded itself some time ago. I will accept your love or the swift arrival of death at your hands, whichever you choose to answer me with."

Aizen's eyes softened and his fingers touched Tetsuya's lips again. The noble caressed them gently with his lips, then he closed his eyes and tasted them more thoroughly, earning a smoldering look of approval from the dangerous man who offered them.

"I must apologize that we could not partake of this in your more lighted world, but I am a creature of darkness, so all I can manage is the illusion of light and warmth, Tetsuya."

Tetsuya smiled and let his eyes take in the intense beauty and tranquility that Aizen had created, there in the heart of the hollow world...the lovely colors and scents of the plants, grass and flowers, the pleasant splash of the waterfall and the sweet warmth of the illusory sun.

"Sousuke Aizen," he whispered softly, "When I lay within my cell for all of those years, I would have died for just this illusion. That your power would create beauty like this is nothing to apologize for. I am content to meet my fate with you here."

Aizen's smile widened and his reiatsu darkened and intensified, wrapping around the two and isolating them, there in that small corner of paradise within Las Noches.

"Let us surrender to our fates here, then," Aizen said, slowly tasting Tetsuya's soft, sweet lips with his tongue, "I will try not to cause you undue pain. I am not a gentle person and loving me is no gentle undertaking"

"Do not apologize to me," Tetsuya whispered back almost breathlessly, "I know who I am with, and I accept readily the consequences of my decision. Loose yourself then, Sousuke Aizen. If my strength is not enough to sustain me, then I do not deserve to live."

He might have shivered at the fire that seemed to wrap itself around his bared body, but lost in the wicked depths of Sousuke Aizen's dark brown eyes, Tetsuya felt only the incredible warmth and power of the man's strong arms. He surrendered to a storm of fierce, deep kisses and gasped at the heavy thrust of Aizen's hot, ominously leaking arousal against his. He moaned dizzily into the other man's attacking mouth, his hands trembling softly as they gripped Aizen's muscular shoulders. Sweet throbs of arousal coursed through his body, making his back arch wantonly, his hips move involuntarily to deepen the forceful contact and his head fall back to invite a heavier assault on his exposed throat.

Aizen's mouth left his and bit down on the offered flesh, as his hands slid down and tormented the noble's erect, pink nipples. He kissed his way down a finely carved collarbone, while wrapping a hand around their thickened members. He chuckled inwardly as Tetsuya inhaled sharply, then relaxed and thrust heatedly into his stroking hand. Their lips crashed together in another bout of scathing kisses that left a hint of blood on their clashing tongues.

Tetsuya's slender body writhed mindlessly under Aizen's hands as the man's mouth broke away from his and trailed a line of seething kisses down his torso, then paused as he breathed in Tetsuya's sweet, unspoiled scent and felt his arousal deepen dangerously. His reiatsu flared, burning almost painfully against Tetsuya's as he lingered over the noble's soft abdomen, sinking into his navel, letting his eyes close for a moment and sucking warmly as Tetsuya shivered and moaned restlessly beneath him. His lips followed the line of fine black hairs down to the noble's wet and swollen erection, and coaxed a shuddering, passionate cry from his parted lips as Aizen tasted the pearly fluid that bled from the blushing head.

"S-sousuke!" Tetsuya panted feverishly, "Do with me as you will. Waga kokoro goshujin...( My heart is yours). Alive and breathing...or made forever breathless. I can resist you no more. Watashi wa...anata no mono! (I am forever yours)"

He yielded another lovely, soulful cry as Aizen's mouth descended on his flushed length, swallowing him whole and feeding on his leaking essence. Tetsuya's fingers sank into his hair and encouraged the slow rise and fall of his head, and his clipped, breathless words pleaded almost soundlessly for continuance of the warm, deep suction and long, teasing licks that tormented his riled erection.

A mindless, half-sob escaped him as Aizen's mouth released his inflamed arousal, but he was soothed a moment later as the man's warm, wet mouth wrapped around his soft sac, slowly treasuring one side, then the other. His hand wrapped around Tetsuya's length caressing and stroking as he pushed the younger man's thighs open wider, then kissed his way down to the noble's tight, virgin entrance. He teased it with his tongue, chuckling warmly as Tetsuya gasped and arched his back. He paused and lazily placed a trail of kisses down a sensitive inner thigh, then returned to his entrance and commenced an intense exploration of the area that left Tetsuya sweating and shaky, his blue eyes dazed and his parted lips mouthing senseless, broken phrases.

Aizen's fingers touched the reeling noble's softly moving lips and Tetsuya sucked them into his mouth, then caressed them with a wanton pink tongue, bathing them in his saliva. He groaned softly as Aizen withdrew them and ran them slowly down his sweat-dampened torso, then used one to tease Tetsuya's entrance. The noble moaned and shifted as he began to push his finger inside, then settled as Aizen's mouth returned to his to share the traces of his loving explorations. Tetsuya's eyelids fluttered and he began to lose awareness, overwhelmed by the intensity of the other man's reiatsu and dizzying touches. Aizen slowed to coax him back from the edges of oblivion, treating his mouth to a flurry of reviving kisses.

Tetsuya realized suddenly that a second finger had penetrated him. They pushed in deeply, stretching, teasing and searching for that sensitive place inside him that had never been touched. Aizen's probing fingers found and stimulated it, bringing Tetsuya tantalizingly close to completion. He pushed a third finger inside the panting noble, smiling as Tetsuya's fingers dug into his back in protest, and he loosed a soft, distressed moan.

"Breathe, watashi no koi," whispered Aizen, dragging another feverish moan from Tetsuya as he withdrew his fingers and positioned himself at the noble's prepared entrance.

He watched Tetsuya closely as he entered him, drinking in the lovely sight as the noble's body registered the pain of that first penetration. Tetsuya's large, sapphire eyes widened and darkened beautifully. His lips parted in a harder, panting cry and his fingernails raked Aizen's skin. He paused with just the head of his engorged member inside the noble, calming his riled lover with gentler kisses and remaining still as he adjusted. Gradually, Tetsuya's eyes cleared and met his again.

"The pain will pass quickly," Aizen promised, kissing his softly quivering lips, "Then you will know pleasure like none you have ever experienced."

Tetsuya's eyes glazed over as Aizen began to move in short, careful thrusts and pain and passion collided headlong inside the noble. His chest heaved and his breath came in harsh, moaning gasps. Noting the intensity of his discomfort with the slow entry, Aizen abandoned gentleness altogether and claimed Tetsuya in a single, hard thrust. Steeling himself against his new lover's agonized cry of surrender, he bit down on Tetsuya's lips, devouring the sounds of his pain and immediately began thrusting in and out of him. Tetsuya reeled shakenly for a moment, then found himself stricken with the flames of rising pleasure as Aizen's length sank down inside of him, striking the place he had stimulated before with his fingers. Tetsuya's voice sounded again, this time bearing notes of contentment and intensifying passion. He met Aizen's rough, penetrating kisses fiercely, his body arching upward, into the one atop it, heedlessly seeking completion. Tetsuya's strong reiatsu flared hotly, snapping spiritedly at Aizen's, and making the former captain's eyes shine affectionately as he continued his loving assault on the young noble's body.

Aizen's breath caught in a moment of pleasant surprise as Tetsuya's powerful legs wrapped around his torso and the noble's body writhed hotly against his. Neither could speak anymore as the pleasure of their coupling broke over them and began to crest. Aizen turned suddenly, rolling onto his back and watching, intently as Tetsuya rose up and straddled his body. He grabbed the noble's hips and continued to thrust forcefully into him, as Tetsuya held on with his legs, as though riding Arashi, and laced his fingers together with his lover's.

Time seemed to slow as Tetsuya's slender body rose and fell on Aizen's aroused member, and the former captain met him, thrust for grinding thrust, holding off his own completion until Tetsuya's dancing form shuddered beautifully and the blue-eyed shinigami's cries of pleasure filled the air.

He fell forward, meeting Aizen's lips in a swell of finishing kisses as his release erupted in hot pulses onto their sweat-dampened flesh. Aizen pushed in deeply, making Tetsuya's body recoil, then he filled the noble inside with his blazing release, coaxing a last lovely scream of pleasure from Tetsuya's quaking lips.

Tetsuya went still atop Aizen, made senseless with bliss and taken with the sweet haze of satedness. Aizen's fingers stroked his tumbled black hair and his brown eyes savored the sight of the beautiful noble, sprawled prettily across his chest. He let out a long, languid sigh and brought Tetsuya down onto his back on the grass. He lingered over the noble's resting body, slowly licking away Tetsuya's release, then smiling and spreading his black hair out around his head, before sinking into his mouth and enjoying a slower, more relaxed exchange.

"You are truly beautiful, Tetsuya Kuchiki," he whispered, "I am exceedingly glad that I did not kill you before. To have missed out on such a lovely display would have been a crime."

He noticed a splash of blood along the inside of one pretty, white thigh and coaxed the exhausted noble's legs apart again. Healing power flared around his hands.

"My apologies," Aizen said quietly, carefully healing the damage, "I did attempt to hold back, but you proved to be too great a temptation."

Tetsuya loosed a soft, sarcastic sound of amusement.

"Are you really apologizing to me, Sousuke?" he asked, smirking, "Do not bother. I have suffered far worse pain while receiving no pleasure at all. I didn't know what pleasure was until you freed me from the last of the bindings of my imprisonment."

"Well," Aizen laughed softly, "To some extent, I freed you. I did, as you accused me, neglect to free you if someone else should touch you sexually. I should really finish what I started."

"No," Tetsuya said, shaking his head, "I am content to live with things the way they are. I will have no lover other than you."

"Is that so?" Aizen asked, looking both amused and pleased, "An odd thing for a captive to desire, ne Tetsuya?"

"Not so odd," Tetsuya breathed, seeking Aizen's lips again, "But Sousuke, did you not say that you wanted us to be soul bonded?"

"Do you want to be?" Aizen asked.

"That is an odd question to ask your captive," Tetsuya said, "But yes...I very much want that...if you are willing."

Aizen nodded and leaned over him, letting his fingers roam over his own chest until he reached the place a spirit center rested beneath. He coaxed a tendril of his reiatsu out, then moved on to the next spirit center and did the same.

"Our bodies contain seven spirit centers," explained Aizen, "As you know, they open or constrict at our direction to focus and flow our reiatsu."

He finished bringing the strands of reiatsu out, then nodded to Tetsuya and watched as the noble did the same.

"If we make love while having these strands of our power exposed, they will connect to each other and bind our souls together. We will be as one being in two bodies, our hearts beating together, breathing together, feeling each others' emotions and physical senses at will...being able to look through each others' eyes and borrow each others' powers."

"But Sousuke," objected the noble, "Doesn't that mean that if one of us dies, the other will as well? Why would you risk..."

"I will not die if you do, because my heart is strong enough to endure the loss. I think you are strong enough, as well, to bear the loss if I should die."

"But why take the risk at all?" asked the noble.

"I love you," whispered Aizen, making Tetsuya's eyes widen in surprise.

He was taken down more slowly, and his body breached more gently this time. Tetsuya watched through half-lidded eyes as the exposed strands of their reiatsu bound together and the binding slowly opened each to the other. They held on to each other tightly, each opening his eyes to his lover's fully revealed soul and bringing it slowly inside himself. Aizen's mouth indulged Tetsuya's in slow, deep kisses, and they moved together, lost in the depths of each others' yielded hearts.

"Now, I am your captive too," whispered Aizen, watching and smiling as Tetsuya's body seized with pleasure, then surrendering to his own heavy throbs of completion.

"I love you too, Sousuke...and I will remain your captive heart forever."

Aizen smiled sadly, touching Tetsuya's face affectionately and hating himself for what he was about to do.

"So we are bound," he whispered, "I am sorry, watashi no koi...truly sorry for what I must do..."

Tetsuya's eyes widened with sudden terror as he read his lover's intent.

"Sousuke, don't!"

Aizen's power struck Tetsuya forcefully, making him go limp in the older man's arms. Swallowing his guilt, Aizen lowered Tetsuya gently onto the grass.

"Thank you, Tetsuya," he said softly, "Now, I needn't have you with me to use your powers when I go to destroy the hougyoku. They belong to me now, too. Sleep in safety here, watashi no koi. Your cousin will find you soon."

He laid a soft yukata over Tetsuya's collapsed form, kissed him lightly on the forehead and then quietly abandoned him.


	13. Loyalty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tetsuya copes with Aizen's departure, resolving to go after him as Byakuya follows his cousin into Hueco Mundo.

Tetsuya felt an insistent patting on his face and sensed several presences around him. He quickly concluded without yet opening his eyes, the fact that since, although hollows were present, they hadn't simply eaten him, meant that even not necessarily being friendly towards him, they were, at least not hostile.

"Do you think Lord Aizen hit him too hard and he died?" asked an odd, panicked male voice, "It would be terrible if he died!"

"Baka! Do you really think Lord Aizen would be clumsy enough to kill him if he didn't mean to? He said that he only knocked him out to keep him safe until his cousin comes to get him."

"That's what he told us, all right," said a very young female voice.

Tetsuya felt the presences close in, and the patting on his face began again.

"Come on, Mister!" said the child's voice, "Wake up!"

Tetsuya groaned and opened his eyes. They went wide and he came to his knees in surprise at the strange sight of the huge, tiki faced hollow, a leaner, purple hollow and a girl-child hollow. The three froze, staring at him...the two males blushing and barely suppressing snickers, and the girl-child gazing at him wide-eyed. Tetsuya frowned and looked down at himself, remembering suddenly that he had been naked when Aizen knocked him out.

_And he wouldn't bother to dress me before sending in these...hollows to...?_

He hastily picked up his yukata and clothed himself, while the two male hollows burst into laughter, and the child smiled up at him.

"Why did your skin turn all pink like that, Mister?" asked the girl, "Nel thinks you were pink all over!"

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," said the purple hollow, "May I just say that you are one very pretty shinigami! I can see why Lord Aizen wanted to..."

"Pesche, don't say such things!" said the tiki-faced hollow, "Especially considering Nel is with us..."

"What's wrong with what Dondachakka said?" asked the girl, blinking, "What did Lord Aizen want to do to him? He likes him. He wouldn't hurt him..."

"Well, not hurt, exactly," said Pesche, making Tetsuya blush again.

"But it could hurt if he wasn't careful," added Dondachakka.

"Yeah, you'd know about that, ne Dondachakka?"

"M-my apologies," Tetsuya said, silencing the three, "but did Sousuke tell you to...?"

"Hey," said Pesche, narrowing his eyes, "It's kinda rude to interrupt."

Tetsuya went silent, his blue eyes staring.

"But if he doesn't interrupt and you never stop talking, then he'll die of old age before he gets a word in!" complained Dondachakka.

"What is your obsession with this guy dying?" asked Pesche, "You know Lord Aizen said very distinctly that we were not to let anyone hurt a hair on his head!"

"But, why would anyone want to hurt the pretty shinigami's hair?" asked Nel.

"He does have very pretty hair," observed Dondachakka, "Maybe they want to steal it! Is it made of some kind of special, magical strands?"

He positioned himself protectively in front of the confused noble.

"Erm..." said Tetsuya, blinking and frowning, "Some kind of...?"

"Oh, man! You are a moron!" exclaimed Pesche, rolling his eyes.

"Gomen nasai, are you talking to me?" asked Tetsuya.

"Look, I told you, you really shouldn't interrupt," Pesche said, scowling, "But since you're going to be sooooooooo impatient..."

"Please!" exclaimed the noble, "Just tell me who all of you are!"

"Uh-oh!" said Dondachakka, "Now you've done it! You went and made him mad! He's obviously a very powerful shinigami, if he has magical hair!"

"I don't have magical ha..."

"Baka, if he's so powerful, then why did Lord Aizen tell us to protect him?"

"I thought it was because of the magical hair!"

"But if they steal it," said Nel, "Won't it just grow back?"

"I don't believe this..." sighed Tetsuya, dropping down on at the edge of the pool and looking into the water.

Behind him, the three odd hollows continued to banter obliviously.

_I was so stupid. From the moment that Kyouka Suigetsu took hold of me, I was wary of letting down my guard. I held on to my resolve as he turned me this way and that. But when I fell, defending him...and he went to such lengths to save me, I thought that he had really begun to feel something for me._

_I didn't realize..._

_I didn't have any idea he was only doing as he did to preserve my powers so that he could convince me to bond with him, giving him the ability to use my powers, himself._

_But...I don't want to believe that is what he did. I want to believe that he really did fall in love with me, and that is why he bonded with me. It could be that he loves me in what way he is able to, but he left me, and he left me with no intent to return. That is why he told the hollows to wait for Byakuya to arrive._

_I am such a fool..._

"Mister?" said the girl-child's voice, startling Tetsuya out of his reverie, "Nel thinks you look sad. Can Nel help?"

"Y-you want to help me?" Tetsuya asked, looking into the girl's wide, gentle eyes.

He sighed and looked back into the water.

"Tell me how I came to be such a gullible fool," he said softly, "Tell me why, even though I knew what kind of man he was, I began to believe that what was between us was real...that he...loved me."

He looked up at the girl-child and was surprised to see that the other two hollows had joined her, and their eyes had filled with tears.

"Oh, that's just so sad!" sobbed Dondachakka, "Even his magical hair couldn't convince Lord Aizen to stay!"

"That's just awful...to feel so betrayed, said Pesche, looking down at his feet, "but I'm afraid he's not the most loving guy around. Usually, if he pays attention to you, it's because he wants something."

"That makes me feel so much better to know that I am both naive and stupid," muttered the noble.

"But at least Lord Aizen told Nel and her fraccion to protect his magical haired friend," said Nel, "Nel thinks that means that Lord Aizen does like you. Lord Aizen just thinks different than we do, so we don't always understand."

Tetsuya let out a defeated breath and looked back into the water.

"How can you misunderstand being used for your powers and abandoned?" mused Tetsuya, "I gave him what he wanted and he left me. It is as simple as that."

Nel moved closer and stood in front of him, making him raise his eyes.

"Lord Aizen's friend has very pretty eyes. Are they magical too?"

"No wonder he needs our protection!" exclaimed Dondachakka, "Magical hair and eyes!"

"What do they do?" asked Pesche, "Can you give us a demonstration?"

Tetsuya shook his head and smiled sadly.

"Look," he said wearily, "I do not have magical hair nor eyes. I am just a normal shinigami."

He stopped mid-sentence, surprised by the knowing look Nel gave him.

"Nel does not think that Lord Aizen would fall in love with just a normal shinigami," the girl-hollow said firmly.

"Then if he is on love with me, why did he leave me behind with no intention of returning?" asked Tetsuya.

"Okay," said Pesche, "I didn't really want to embarrass you by agreeing with you when you said you were naive and stupid, but now you're just being dumb!"

"Pesche, don't be rude to him," complained Dondachakka, "He may be dumb, but he is very pretty and not mean, like some of the other shinigamis..."

"Nel thinks that what her fraccion are trying to say is that Lord Aizen left his pretty shinigami behind because he doesn't want him to be hurt. It doesn't mean that Lord Aizen doesn't love you."

"But you don't understand," Tetsuya said softly, "he isn't coming back. He left me. He did what he had to, to gain my powers and then abandoned me here. Why would he do that if he loves me?"

The three hollows went quiet and looked down at the ground. Tetsuya sighed softly and knelt at the water's edge, looking down at his reflection and still feeling the warmth of Aizen's release inside him.

_Sousuke..._

He felt a small hand touch his shoulder and looked up at Nel.

"Nel just thought of something," she said quietly, "Lord Aizen's pretty shinigami friend said that Lord Aizen abandoned him, but Nel thinks that even if Lord Aizen did do that, it doesn't mean Lord Aizen doesn't love him."

"She's got a point there, you know," added Pesche, "It's not like you're the only one he abandoned. Let's see, he abandoned the shimigamis to come here and take control, and he abandoned the Espadas."

"He let his own zapakutou crumble," Tetsuya said, shaking his head, "And then, he took what he wanted from me and left me too."

"Man!" said Pesche, "Is there anyone that guy doesn't abandon, at some point?"

"Lord Aizen took the black horse," said Nel, "Lord Aizen didn't abandon him."

Tetsuya frowned and thought deeply for a moment.

_But he knows that Arashi and I are linked..._

He stared harder into the water.

_Maybe..._

_And in any case, there is a power that Arashi and I could offer him, but only if we are together. He doesn't know that. He may come to need that power..._

"Do you know where he went?" Tetsuya asked Nel.

Nel looked back at him curiously.

"Why does Lord Aizen's pretty shinigami friend ask Nel this? Lord Aizen left his friend here to protect him, and ordered Nel and her fraccion to protect him too."

"I know he has gone to destroy the hougyoku, but where? I need to know!" insisted the noble.

"Ahem," said Pesche, "I distinctly remember Lord Aizen saying we weren't supposed to let you out of here until your cousin came, and that under no circumstances were we to let you go after him. I remember that. Do you remember that, Dondachakka?"

"Yes!" the tiki-faced hollow said emphatically, "He was very clear that Utsuru no Tamina was too dangerous, so..."

He stopped mid-sentence and a stunned look overcame his tiki face.

"Oh boy!" Pesche said, shaking his head, "Now you've really done it, baka! Now he's going to go running after Lord Aizen and we are going to be in so much trouble!"

Tetsuya frowned and bit at his lip, thinking.

"But he took Arashi," the noble said in a frustrated voice, "And...I do not know the way."

"But going there is dangerous," said Nel, wide-eyed, "Lord Aizen's pretty shinigami friend would be on foot, and alone!"

"None of that matters," Tetsuya said, shaking his head, "I have to go after him. You must tell me where that chasm is!"

"Nel can't let the pretty shinigami go alone."

Her eyes blinked and she furrowed her young brow cutely.

"So Nel will have to go too!"

"WHAT?" howled Pesche and Dondachakka together.

"But," Tetsuya objected, "you are just a child!"

Nel looked into Tetsuya's eyes and her body began to emit an odd glow. The light around her grew until Tetsuya could no longer see her and wind began to howl through the chamber. Tetsuya squinted as the light started to fade, and found himself looking at the outline of a young woman, standing turned partially away, so that he could clearly see the large '3' tattooed on her slender back.

"You..." Tetsuya said breathlessly, "You are an Espada?"

The young woman turned and approached him slowly.

"I was an Espada," she corrected him, "But I do not consider myself like them. I make my own decisions now. And I have decided to help you."

"You...are going to take me to Sousuke?" asked Tetsuya.

Nel met his eyes appraisingly, then nodded.

"You wish to fight for Lord Aizen because you love him, ne...?"

"Tetsuya," said the noble, extending a hand, "I am Tetsuya Kuchiki."

"Tetsuya Kuchiki," replied Nel, "Love is an acceptable reason to fight. I will take you to Utsuro no Tamina."

"But, how long was I unconscious? How far is it to the chasm?"

"Are you going to ride Bawabawa?" asked Dondachaka.

"No," said Nel, "You will stay and await the arrival of Tetsuya Kuchiki's cousin, and tell him where Tetsuya has gone."

Tetsuya turned to face the two fraccion.

"Just...do not tell him anything more," he requested, "I need to explain all of this to him personally."

"Right," said Pesche, "You've got it!"

"That's right," agreed Dondachakka, "We won't say a word."

Tetsuya sighed.

"Why does that not reassure me at all?" he mused.

He shook his head and turned back to Nel.

"So, how will we get to the chasm?"

Nel smiled.

"You can ride me."

Tetsuya gave her a confused, wide-eyed look that set her fraccion howling with laughter. Nel glanced at them affectionately, then drew her zanpakutou.

Tetsuya watched, rapt, as she gave the command and her weapon released. Light, dust and smoke surrounded her again, and this time when it cleared, the noble caught his breath, staring at the lovely centaur-like creature she became. She looked down at him appraisingly.

"Are you sure that you want to do this, Tetsuya Kuchiki?" she asked, "The chasm is very dangerous and should Lord Aizen lose control of the hougyoku, he, himself, could be a threat to you."

Tetsuya met her eyes squarely.

"I could have died any number of times since I became Sousuke's prisoner," he said with resolve, "And now, given back my choices, I have decided that it is my will, despite everything, to fight and die if necessary, in order to help him destroy the hougyoku."

"Then, let us go," said Nel, "I promise you that you will have your chance to fight for him. But I also warn you that whatever powers you have, you must be ready to use them."

"I assure you," said Tetsuya firmly, "I will hold nothing back."

Nel smiled again and nodded.

"Then, you will be successful. Come."

Tetsuya flash stepped onto her back, holding on tightly as she turned and shot through the chamber door. She passed through the hallways of Las Noches at dizzying speed and burst out the doors, into the desert.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Are you going to tell me exactly where we're going?" Renji asked as Byakuya flash stepped down into Kisuke's training area, "I mean, I assume since we're going to use a garganta, we're making an unauthorized trip to Hueco Mundo, but..."

"Tetsuya is alive," the noble said, his eyes focused straight ahead as Kisuke hastily prepared the garganta for their passage into the hollow world.

"What?" Renji asked, looking confused, "Byakuya, they just buried the guy! I mean, I don't want it to be true, any more than you do, but..."

"It was an illusion," insisted Byakuya, "Don't you see? Tetsuya collapsed while in Aizen's presence and Aizen was returned to his cell and has supposedly been there ever since. But, we just became aware of the fact that, at some time, Aizen escaped. And I just saw him leave the manor on Tetsuya's stallion. And I don't care how good an illusionist Aizen is, if Tetsuya had died, Arashi would have faded with him! My cousin is alive...and Aizen has him in Hueco Mundo, probably at Las Noches."

"So...we're just running off to find him? Just like that? No planning? No offense, but I don't remember you ever doing something like that..."

"I am not going to let Tetsuya die."

"Right," agreed Renji, "Neither am I."

"Nor are we," said Rukia's voice from behind them.

Byakuya and Renji turned and were surprised to see Rukia standing with Ichigo, Orihime and a tall, blue-haired Espada.

"What the hell?" exclaimed Renji, starting to draw his blade, "What's that bastard doing here?"

"Calm down," said Ichigo, "He isn't here to cause trouble."

"How did you know we were here?" asked Renji.

"Orihime told us that she sensed you had spotted Aizen leaving with her," said the ginger-haired youth.

"What?" said Byakuya, his eyes widening, "He...took you to...?"

"He asked me to help him heal an injured shinigami," said Orihime, "And the shinigami I healed was your cousin, Tetsuya."

"You have seen him?" Byakuya asked, hardly daring to hope.

"He is alive and well," Orihime reported, "Aizen left him recuperating in a hidden room within Las Noches. He sent Grimmjow to bring me back to tell you where you could find your cousin."

"But just in case there's trouble," said Ichigo, "We're going to go along with you."

"You may do as you like," said the noble, but I am leaving immediately."

"We're ready to go, Brother," said Rukia.

Byakuya gave her a look of gratitude, nodded, and turned towards the opening garganta.


	14. Empty Spaces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen abandons Arashi and goes on alone to destroy the hougyoku. Byakuya and friends pursue Tetsuya, who has gone after Aizen.

Sousuke Aizen sat astride Arashi, fighting off very uncharacteristic feelings of regret as he put distance between the stallion's shinigami master and them. He wasn't one to let guilt eat away at him, or to second guess his decisions, once they were made. So, he wasn't afflicted so much with remorse as with the pain of breaking away from the lovely shinigami, who had unexpectedly captured his heart.

_It was careless, letting him in like that. I knew all along what a reckless thing it was. It is better this way. He'll be so busy feeling betrayed at being abandoned after our lovemaking that he will not be able to take action. Even if he learns where I have gone, he won't expect that coming after me will change things._

_It is over._

He felt a sense of relief at knowing Tetsuya would go home safely, that he would resume the path he had been on before having his life upended and threatened at the hands of the Seireitei's most dangerous criminal.

_It wasn't meant to be...but it was beyond beautiful while it lasted. I wouldn't trade one moment, good or bad, Tetsuya Kuchiki._

He was careful not to extend his senses through the recently opened pathways of their bonding, but kept his mind carefully closed off so that Tetsuya could not connect with him to see where he was, or sense the direction in which he moved.

_I will take no chances, but will do everything within my power to protect you from this Pandora's box we've opened. With everything shut down, even if someone else learns that we were bonded, they cannot use you to find me. There will be nothing left between us, but sweet memory. And the memory of your pure, unspoiled soul will haunt me forever, Tetsuya...still, it is better than watching you die. How odd it feels after threatening your life so many times to now crave each beat of your heart, and every fluttering breath. And because of this, I will let you go, rather than to watch as the consequences of my actions come down on you._

He was nudged out of his reverie as Arashi approached the entrance to the valley in which the chasm lay, and slowed, making a soft sound of warning and raising his reiatsu preemptively.

"I sense them too," Aizen said softly.

He stopped the stallion at the top of a ridge, in a cluster of rocks and patted him lightly on the neck.

"Thank you for your assistance, Arashi," he said quietly, "but the time has come for us to part ways. The hollow king knew what I would have to do to destroy the hougyoku, and has set heavy defenses here in the valley to try to stop me. I can only be responsible for protecting myself. I want you to return to Tetsuya and see him safely home."

He touched the stallion's face, releasing him from Kyouka Suigetsu's influence and turned away, starting towards the edge of the ridge. Kyouka Suigetsu manifested and walked quietly alongside him. As they neared it, they stopped suddenly as Arashi flash stepped in front of them and blocked their path.

Aizen frowned curiously.

"What are you doing?" he asked softly, "I released you from my blade's influence. You should realize now how I used my powers to forge a connection with you so that I could gain your assistance when I desired it."

_I understand that...and I am displeased to have been used in that way. However, you are now my master's soul bonded. I cannot in good conscience allow you to enter that valley alone._

"What are you talking about?" Aizen asked, off-handedly, "These hollows cannot overcome me. I do not need your assistance to get past them."

_I will not dishonor my bond with my master by letting you go alone._

"I see," said Aizen, his frown deepening, "Apparently, you missed the part where I took advantage of Tetsuya to gain his powers, then left him. And now that you have served your purpose, I will be done with you as well."

The stallion's blue eyes darkened and he stamped a delicate hoof, releasing a thin tendril of steam from his nostrils.

_You can be as disparaging as you want, but I do not answer to you. I answer only the call of my master's heart, and Tetsuya loves you. He accepts that you have tried to abandon us, but he has not consented to abandoning you, however foolish you think that makes him. He is an honorable man..._

"Which is precisely why he is much better off not assuming the burden of being associated with me. Believe me, Arashi, Tetsuya already struggles, being a half blood among nobles. He does not need to estrange himself from the shinigamis by taking on the title of 'the bastard traitor's lover.'"

_That is not why you are leaving us behind._

Aizen paused, gazing into the stallion's intelligent and determined eyes and feeling the deep presence of Tetsuya's heart within the beast. He sighed softly.

"If you understand that, then you must also understand my right to choose this path."

_I am not trying to impede your path, Sousuke Aizen. You are standing in the way of mine._

"What is it that you intend to do?"

_I will see you through the destruction of the hougyoku._

"And then?"

_Then, I will leave it to my master and you to decide where you stand._

"And if I still choose to leave Tetsuya?"

_Then, I will assist him in managing his feelings about it. He is a strong person. It is not the first time someone has won Tetsuya's heart, then left him behind...although to Naoki's credit, he only left my master because he died. Still, Tetsuya has been treated coldly before by his former captors. With time, he will accept your decision to abandon your love for him._

"I do not recall saying I was in love with Tetsuya," said Aizen, narrowing his eyes, "I told you. I desired his powers."

Arashi glared at him and flicked his tail in annoyance.

_Obviously, you think Tetsuya and I are very stupid. Otherwise, you would not overlook the other side of that decision._

Aizen gazed back at him wordlessly.

_It did not escape me, nor Tetsuya that you struck him with kido and did not simply use Kyouka Suigetsu to mislead him. We understand the connotations of that...and we will, of course, use them to achieve our goals._

"I see. You sound decided in your path. It does not seem that it does us any good to discuss this anymore. Follow, then, if that is your wish. But step carefully. I will be focused solely on destroying the hougyoku. I have no attention to spare watching out for you."

_Nor do I expect you to. I can manage myself, and am content to risk my life and Tetsuya's._

The words gave Aizen pause.

"Are you saying that if you die, then Tetsuya will also?" he asked quietly.

_You did not surmise this from the fact that his death would bring about mine?_

"I assumed that since Tetsuya was master, then he would be strong enough to bear the loss of you."

_You have no understanding of the bond between us. He is master, but I am the embodiment of Tetsuya's free and independent spirit. I am a part of him. And if this part of him dies, Tetsuya will not survive. I am the force that existed and grew inside him through his childhood...the strong underpinnings of his heart that helped him to bear the years of torment within the prison, and the long fight to win his place within his family. The reason his heart remained pure and strong, is because he had me inside him. And when his zanpakutou manifested, I manifested as well. Tetsuya's fierce fighting spirit could not be contained in his body alone. I came to life to carry that part of him, and to protect him from ever being imprisoned again._

"Then, being the one who protected Tetsuya all of this time, you will understand that I cannot allow you to accompany me."

Aizen stepped forward and extended a hand in the stallion's direction.

_What is this? You know that your illusions can no longer deceive us! I thought that by soul bonding with Tetsuya, you also shared your powers with us, allowing us to counter your zanpakutou's powers!_

"You are able to borrow the powers of Kyouka Suigetsu," agreed Aizen, "but granting those powers to anyone, myself included, is and always has been based on the ability of the one using the power to either conquer the zanpakutou or to convince the weapon's spirit to cooperate. Re-kuhime knows the importance of her powers to my plan. She has chosen to assist me. But you have neither conquered Kyouka Suigetsu, nor been granted his assistance. Though you are no longer fooled by his illusions, being able to invoke his power is another matter. And, in any case, this is not his power, but my own that I am using."

Power flared from the shinigami's hands and coalesced around Tetsuya's infuriated mount. The stallion reared and kicked as a giant box formed around his body, trapping him inside. His hooves struck the inside forcefully, but to his dismay, the walls around him held firm. Arashi trumpeted viciously, his reiatsu swelling around him and striking at the box that impeded him.

_Let...me...OUT!_

"My apologies," said Aizen, placing a hand on the structure, "I know how negatively you respond to imprisonment, Arashi. But...you refuse to accept my decision to go on without you, and I am left with no choice but to exercise what powers I must to protect you from your foolish willfulness."

The stallion didn't answer, but continued to expel a stream of angry thoughts, while striking at the walls with hooves and sharp bursts of controlled kido.

_NO ONE IMPRISONS US!_

"Goodbye, Arashi. I have truly enjoyed our time together."

_Bastard!_

Smiling wryly and shaking his head, Aizen turned towards the valley, where the hollow king and his forces waited. Inside his breast pocket, the hougyoku burned softly.

And waited.

XXXXXXXXXX

Grimmjow and Ichigo walked slightly ahead of Rukia and Orihime, with Byakuya and Renji following as the group approached Las Noches. The shinigamis marveled as they walked, unchallenged, past the entry guards and made their way into the fortress.

"Aizen made sure that you would be able to reach that guy without having to fight your way in and out. He may not run the place, but he still wields power enough to pretty much do as he damn well pleases."

Ichigo shook his head and sighed.

"Let's just hope he doesn't decide to take another crack at overthrowing the king," he said solemnly.

"He said that he was going to destroy the hougyoku," said Orihime, "He showed it to me, and he showed me the scar from where he had separated himself from the stone."

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"He freed himself from the hougyoku?" he asked his voice betraying an edge of tension, "You know this with certainty? He couldn't have simply fooled you, using his powers of illusion?"

"Because, if it was no illusion," Renji added, "then it means that Aizen is mortal again!"

"But do you think Aizen would really part with that power, knowing that he could then be executed for his crimes?" asked Rukia.

"He was very clear that he wanted to destroy the hougyoku," said Orihime, "And having been his prisoner before, I know more about what its like when he uses his power. I could tell that my senses were not being fooled. There was something very different about him."

"He still abducted you," Ichigo said darkly.

"I told you," objected the girl, "Sousuke Aizen did not abduct me! He asked me if I would help him."

"He...asked you?" queried Byakuya, furrowing his brow thoughtfully, "Did he tell you why he needed you?"

"Yes," the girl said, nodding, "He wanted me to save your cousin. He said that the reason he took Tetsuya was because your cousin witnessed his escape from Central 46, so he used Kyouka Suigetsu to subdue him and took him to Las Noches. He told me that Tetsuya was helping him to destroy the hougyoku...that he had a power that was needed to do so. Aizen had just separated himself from the hougyoku, when a poisonous hollow tried to attack him. Tetsuya was injured...poisoned by the hollow."

"But my cousin's zanpakutou can help him to hold off the effects of poison," said Byakuya.

"It was a devastatingly strong poison," said Orihime, "And even though his zanpakutou was able to slow it down a little, she was forced to freeze Tetsuya's body to slow it down enough so that Aizen had time to come and ask me to help heal Tetsuya."

"And you are certain he asked you...and did not just manipulate you into...?" Byakuya began.

"No," Orihime said, resolutely, "He asked me to come. He did not order me or manipulate me. He agreed that if I came with him, he would free me as soon as Tetsuya was healed."

"Huh," mused Ichigo, scratching his head, "and hate the guy all you want, but he did follow through on that."

"And he more than followed through on the second agreement he made with me."

"Which was...?" asked Byakuya.

"He agreed that when he had destroyed the hougyoku, he would free Tetsuya and allow him to return home unharmed. He only needed Tetsuya's power to help him."

Orihime frowned, an odd expression rising on her face.

"But I thought that it was strange. I healed Tetsuya, and then Aizen ordered us to leave them alone. While I waited, I sensed something powerful happening in the chamber they were in. Then, when Aizen came out of the chamber..." the girl remembered.

_"What happened?" she asked, looking past Aizen to where Tetsuya laid in the grass at the edge of the pool, "Is he...?"_

_"He is only unconscious. I have what I need from Tetsuya, and will now keep to the promise I made to you. Grimmjow will see you home safely. Nel and her fraccion will guard Tetsuya until you bring the others to retrieve him."_

_"But why not have him go with me to the living world?" Orihime asked._

_Aizen paused and looked back at the collapsed shinigami within the chamber._

_"I want to be sure that he does not follow me. I will not risk his life, now that I do not have to."_

_"But how...?"_

_"Go now."_

"That's all he told me," Orihime sighed, "I don't know what power he needed or how he took it from Tetsuya, but I know that is what he said."

"Well," said Byakuya as they came to a stop within the fortress, "We will simply ask Tetsuya."

"He's in there," said Grimmjow, "That's where Aizen left him after they...talked and Aizen knocked him out."

He opened the door, and the group walked inside. They paused for a moment, instantly enchanted by the beauty and life within the chamber, there in the depths of Las Noches.

"It's true," said Byakuya, his hand clasping at Renji's arm, "I feel his reiatsu. Tetsuya...!"

He flash stepped to the edge of the pool and stopped, scanning the room.

"Tetsuya!" he called urgently, "Tetsuya, we are here!"

His eyes went wide as two odd looking hollows emerged from the foliage. Ichigo, Rukia and Renji gasped.

"Pesche and Dondachakka!" exclaimed Ichigo, "Where is Nel?"

"And where is my cousin?" asked Byakuya, his eyes blazing.

"Look, uh, don't kill the messengers, okay?" said Pesche nervously, "We told him not to go, but he insisted. He wouldn't listen to reason! He was loco in the head."

"Maybe Lord Aizen hit him too hard and he went crazy!" added Dondachakka.

"Oh great," groaned Renji, rolling his eyes and crossing hia arms, "Say goodbye to getting a straight answer from these guys!"

"Tell me where my cousin went!" Byakuya demanded, his reiatsu swelling dangerously.

"Wh...whoa, there!" cried Pesche, running behind Dondachakka and peeking out, "Don't get so worked up! We'll tell you. They went after Aizen...both of them."

"They went after Aizen...to help him destroy the stone," added Dondachakka, "It had nothing to do with his magical hair and eyes, or their feelings of lo..."

"Shut up, Dondachakka!" yelled Pesche, hastily covering his friend's mouth with a restraining hand, "You're going to hurt yourself, trying to think. Look, we did our best to make him stay here like Aizen said, but once he learned that Aizen was going to Utsuru no Tanima, there was no way to stop him. So Nel went with him, to protect him."

"Did you say Utsuru no Tanima?" Renji said, shock rising in his eyes.

The other shinigamis stared in surprise.

"The blank chasm..." Byakuya said softly, his eyes intense, "I think I understand."

"You understand what, Brother?" asked Rukia, "What is that place?"

"It is a chasm that is said to have been created by an ancient hollow lord...to cage a powerful demon. The demon eventually escaped, but the chasm still exists. It is special, because while within it, one is cut off from the tendrils of reality that encompass the three worlds. He probably plans to enclose the hougyoku in the chasm and use his powers there to destroy it. His means of doing so must be very destructive...so destructive that he is going to use them in the closed off valley, to protect the three worlds from being affected by whatever he employs to do it."

"And Tetsuya is going there," said Rukia worriedly, "Why would he feel like he had to do that? He knew Aizen had whatever power he needed, so...?"

"I am going after them," Byakuya said quietly, "I just got my cousin back from death, and I will not lose him again."

"Then, I'm going with you," Renji said firmly.

"We all are," said Ichigo solemnly.

"We must hurry," said Byakuya, "Grimmjow, can you show us the way?"

"Yeah," said the blue-haired hollow, stealing a glance at Ichigo, "I wanna see how this all comes out anyway..."

Flash steps and sonido sounded, and the shinigamis, humans and hollow disappeared from the chamber. Pesche and Dondachakka looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whew," said Pesche, "I'm glad that's over. You idiot, you almost gave everything away!"

"Sorry," said Dondachakka, "I got carried away."

"That's okay. I don't think the shinigamis caught on."

He looked around nervously.

"But just in case they did, let's get out of here, okay?"

The two disappeared, leaving the chamber empty.


	15. Shinigami Tenba

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tetsuya stuns Aizen with the reveal of a divine power.

"Be ready to use the full range of our powers," Aizen told the troubled spirit that walked at his side, "This is likely to be a more difficult fight than we have seen in some time."

"But with the restoration of your powers after you separated from the hougyoku, you are back in condition for fighting," answered Kyouka Suigetsu, "And even though you are not yet wielding full reiatsu, still you will sweep aside whatever stands in your way."

Aizen paused, still outside the range of the hollows, and looked into the spirit's emerald green eyes. He let out a soft breath and touched the spirit's face lightly.

"Don't you mean that we will sweep them aside?" he asked quietly, "Are you planning to desert me then, Kyouka Suigetsu?"

The zanpakutou gave him a tormented look.

"After everything," he said, his voice shaking, "After I accepted that you decided you didn't need me? After you discarded me? After you chose the hougyoku over me and left me to die? After all of that, I came back to you. I got you out of that place. I helped you to find what you needed to find to destroy that abominable rock! And even after all of that, you still question my loyalty?"

"Everyone has their breaking point, Kyouka Suigetsu," Aizen said, still holding him lightly by the chin and admiring his comely face, "Even you have your breaking point. I pushed you away, not once, but all of those times. I shattered the bond between us...and I believed, at the time, that it was the right decision."

"Do you still?" the spirit whispered, a moonlit tear running down his face, "Do you still believe that making that thing was the right thing to do? That abandoning me and leaving me to die was the right thing to do?"

"If I did," said Aizen, "Would I be destroying it? You are asking me the wrong questions, Kyouka Suigetsu. The question you should be asking me is, what will I do once it is gone? Do not be afraid to ask me that question."

The spirit pulled his chin free of his master's grasp.

"I have asked myself that question many times. And although I know the answer, it is not an answer that I prefer to think about. Because...we both know that you will abandon me again...should another great power like the hougyoku comes along. You will do whatever you have to...to overthrow the regime that killed Yasu."

Aizen sighed.

"I no longer live for revenge," said Aizen, "But...I admit that if the way came to throw off the current monarchy, I would take it...for myself, for Yasu...for Tetsuya...and for you."

"What?" asked the spirit, looking confused, "Did you say...for me?"

"Of course," said Aizen, "Haven't you realized? You are a part of my soul."

"But you abandoned me..."

"Yes," Aizen agreed, "And in truth, I cannot promise you that I never will again. But think of that decision in context, Kyouka Suigetsu. Are there not circumstances under which you would do the same?"

"I would never abandon you!"

"But I ask you. Would you abandon a part of yourself to save one you loved?"

The spirit's green eyes glittered in thought.

"I..."

"Did you not go to great risk to free me even at the risk of being destroyed if you were caught? And did you not choose to return to me, unfettered from any influence from me?"

"I could not help myself," said the spirit, lowering his eyes, "Whatever you did, you are still a part of me. But how...?"

"Think of it this way. You and I both suffered in the wake of losing Yasu. And I was determined to destroy the forces that killed him...to end the rule of that useless king who was too disassociated to care what his own noble families were doing. To that end, I was willing to go to great lengths...even sacrificing a part of myself."

"S-sacrifice?"

"Yes," Aizen answered, looking away in the direction of Las Noches, "You use the word 'abandon' to describe what I did. And it does describe the act, though it fails to properly describe the emotion behind it. My lover was murdered and I sacrificed a part of myself to become more powerful, so that I could stop such things from happening. I would have sacrificed my arm or leg...but the price for becoming strong enough to overthrow the king, was a piece of my soul...you, Kyouka Suigetsu. For Yasu, I would have paid that price."

"But...the hougyoku failed you," said the zanpakutou.

"No," Aizen said quietly, "I went to the ends of my strength and approached victory. But as I looked it in the face, I saw that I had only been trying to escape the solitude of having lost my lover. And ironically, I had only made myself more isolated by sacrificing my zanpakutou, a part of my own soul...to gain that power. But winning that battle, overthrowing the king, even taking control of the three worlds would not bring Yasu back. Nor would it make me less alone."

"So...you are saying that you...?"

"I cannot say that I regret being willing to sacrifice you, a part of myself, to change our worlds with my own hands. I will only say that, in the end, the loneliness of having lost Yasu and you, depleted the force behind my desire. And, as you know, the hougyoku responds to the strength of the user's desires. In the end, the cost of sacrificing everything that way was too much...and the hougyoku sensed the change in my strongest desire. Most claim it abandoned me, in the end. And there is some truth to that. But really, what it did was to sense my deeper, stronger desire and to set me on the path to finding it."

Understanding registered suddenly in Kyouka Suigetsu's green eyes.

"Then...all of this...me helping you to escape, that shinigami seeing us and us taking him...everything was...?"

"The seal on the hougyoku did not activate until after the hougyoku took action on my new desire. I realized after I was returned to you, and the connection between Tetsuya and me began to grow...that you and Tetsuya were the hougyoku's answer to my new desires. Do you understand?"

The troubled spirit's expression brightened.

"I think I do."

The edges of a smile touched his lips for a moment, but then faded.

"What is it?" Aizen asked.

"Master, if everything is as you say, then...why did you leave Tetsuya?"

Aizen closed his eyes for a moment and smiled briefly.

"Because when you realize that you are a danger to everyone you love, it instills a desire to protect by watching from a distance. I could hold on to him, bring him with us, and give him my companionship, but at what price? I can love him from a distance and watch him blossom beautifully in his own surroundings, and he will not be endangered by being close to me."

"But...what about what Tetsuya desires?"

"He does not want to die young, Kyouka Suigetsu. He proved as much by fighting me for his life all of the way here."

"That man would give his life in an instant for you," said the spirit, "He proved that too. And you saw his face when he realized you were going to attack and leave him. I don't know that abandoning him was the right decision."

Aizen smiled.

"This from the one who advised me to kill Tetsuya?" he asked softly.

"I was wrong to say that," admitted the spirit, "I know that now. I said it out of fear. I think that I blamed Yasu for making you go to such awful lengths before. But it wasn't his fault."

"No...it was mine."

"I understand that now. But master, if I may be so bold?"

"Yes?"

"I think you have underestimated Tetsuya's strong will. I think that, although you think he will turn away now, he will instead fight to return to you for this battle."

"Why? I have his powers now. Tetsuya knows that."

"You have what you need, Master. But he still fights for what he needs."

"You think he will come here?"

"I know he will. And no force will be able to stop him. He loves you...and whatever you have done, you love him too."

Aizen's eyes turned to the valley ahead of them.

"Then, if he does come here, you are to make sure that he does not die."

He expected surprise or an objection from the spirit, but Kyouka Suigetsu merely nodded.

"I will not let him die."

"I appreciate that."

Kyouka Suigetsu gave him an unusual, serene smile as Re-kuhime appeared and moved to join them. Comprehension registered suddenly in Aizen's eyes, and a smirk rose on his lips.

"So," he said quietly, "I am not the only one with something to protect."

"No," said Kyouka Suigetsu, "You are not."

Aizen turned towards the hollows.

"Come then. It is time to enter the valley."

He activated his zanpakutou's power to hide him from the hollows' eyes and moved forward. They made their way slowly down the steep incline and slipped out onto the dark plains. Angling away from the hollow camp, they worked their way around the edges, cloaked in illusion to help them pass through unseen. They were halfway to the chasm when sonido sounded all around them, and they heard a deep, rasping laugh. Aizen looked up and found himself face to face with the hollow king. He took in the sight of the princely face, glinting golden eyes and flaring reiatsu.

"Sousuke Aizen," the hollow growled softly, "Did you really think that we did not anticipate you? We have countered your blade. We know it well from having endured your leadership before."

"And you, Shima," Aizen said, his eyes oddly calm, "think that merely countering my blade is enough to overcome me? I am disappointed."

He raised his reiatsu around him until his body glowed with it. The hollow king and his gathered forces gathered their power as well, and waited.

"I have said it before, and I will say it again," Aizen said quietly, "In the end, battles are decided by who wields the greatest reiatsu."

"You have only just had your powers returned," objected the hollow king, "You are not at full power!"

"And yet, I still tower over you. Why don't you strike at me and see what you have failed to anticipate."

_Master..._

Ceros erupted from all around, striking Aizen squarely and making him disappear into a cloud of smoke, sand and thick vapor. Shima and his forces watched as the cloud thinned, and they found only empty space and wet sand where Aizen and the spirits had been a moment before. The hollow king stepped forward and bent to touch the wet sand curiously. He looked up at the other hollows.

"Guard the chasm. It has to be a trick. That was far too..."

He broke off as Aizen reappeared on the incline in front of him, completely unhurt. and bearing a sword that looked oddly different than the man's had before. Where Kyouka Suigetsu's hilt had been solid green, the sword he wielded now had a hilt of mingled green and royal blue.

"What have you done, you bastard?" the hollow king demanded, "What is that weapon?"

Aizen smiled.

"This weapon," he said, holding up the sword, "is the reason that you will lose this battle. Now...stand aside or be swept aside. One way or another, I will be going past you."

The king's eyes blazed.

"KILL HIM!" he roared, using sonido to close the distance between them.

He appeared before Aizen, slashing at him again, but watching in dismay as the man's body exploded into a shower of water and fell onto the sand.

"How are you doing this?" the hollow king hissed, going after Aizen again as he reappeared in a position higher on the hillside.

The hollow king watched carefully as he made his next attacks, then smiled wickedly.

"I see," he said, finally crossing swords with Aizen, "You have somehow given yourself places to disappear to. But I will wager that you won't get across the valley that way, because it appears you can only reappear in places you have already been...so..."

He snarled angrily as Aizen disappeared again, and reappeared near where they had first confronted each other. Seeing that he was nearly surrounded, Shima let out a wicked laugh and cast an enclosing kido around Aizen and several of his own men. He detonated it immediately, making a shock wave that made the ground rumble under their feet. Sand and debris obscured the desert in front of him, and he cast another enchantment to sweep it away. He disappeared and reappeared near where Aizen had been, then barely managed to block the shinigami's sword as it slashed downward. The two exchanged blows as the rest of the hollows closed in around them. Shima waited until the circle closed, then disappeared and reappeared farther away.

"Drop your weapon, Sousuke Aizen!" he commanded the shinigami, "You are surrounded."

"Are you trying to amuse me?" Aizen asked in a maddeningly tranquil tone.

"He's here!" shouted a hollow, grabbing one of his own comrades.

Hollow claws slashed, tearing the captured hollow apart. Aizen smirked.

"You may be able to counter my illusions as a group, but as individuals, you are still vulnerable. That is pathetic..."

Shima roared in fury and his reiatsu flared around all of the hollows.

"They are protected from your attacks now!" he shouted, "Try to do that again!"

The hollows began to close in on him.

_M-master, Re-kuhime says that the disruptive forces of the battle have destroyed her set waterforms. We have to..._

His voice disappeared in Aizen's mind as the hollows around him loosed their attacks. A wall of ice rose around him suddenly, vaporizing as ceros struck it on all sides, but leaving him unharmed.

_Thank you, Re-kuhime, he thought, flash stepping away._

_That was not her, Kyouka Suigetsu warned him, It was...him!_

Aizen's head turned, and he spotted Arashi rearing at the top of the hill.

"So...my kido could not hold you. You are strong ind..."

He broke off as he realized that someone sat astride the stallion.

"Tetsuya..." he hissed softly.

"Oh..." said the hollow king, gazing up at the man atop the stallion, and studying the hilt of the sword Tetsuya held, "His sword is the mirror image of yours, meaning that you have bonded with him, ne? Who would have thought you would ever do such a thing, Sousuke Aizen? But now that we know..."

"Now that you know," Aizen said, his reiatsu burning hotly, "None of you will leave this valley alive!"

"You forget," said Shima, "You are surrounded...and my power protects my minions from you."

"How careless of you to spread your power so thinly," said Aizen, launching an attack, but catching his breath as it was swiftly countered.

"How careless of you to underestimate me," said the hollow.

The reiatsu rose around them until the usually black desert looked sunlit. Atop the rise, Nel's equine form appeared beside Arashi.

"Lanzador Verde..." she said, aiming her weapon at the hollow king.

"Do not involve yourselves," Aizen said calmly, "It is not necessary."

Tetsuya glared down at him defiantly.

"You do not command me, Sousuke Aizen!" the blue-eyed shinigami said, wrapping both hands around the hilt of his blade, "I have come here for but one purpose...to see to the destruction of the hougyoku. You will not impede me!"

Aizen and the hollows watched raptly as Tetsuya lifted his sword, point down and drove it into Arashi's back, just behind his neck. The stallion screamed in fury, his reiatsu exploding around the two.

"Shinigami Tenba," Tetsuya said softly.

Blue light rose up from within Tetsuya's body, glistening brightly as he was transformed into water. The liquid surrounded Arashi and sank into the stallion's body.

"What is this?" Aizen whispered, his eyes widening.

Arashi sounded again as sleek black wings formed on his body, and he lifted and fluttered them. A large black horn erupted out of his forehead, and sharp, wicked looking spikes formed on his hooves. Heavy battle armor wrapped itself around him, and his eyes flashed aggressively.

_Shinigami Tenba, Tetsuya's voice said quietly in Aizen's mind, It sacrifices my shinigami form and spreads it like a shroud on Arashi's body, transforming him into his divine form. Wielding the powers of Pegasus and Unicorn, as well as our combined fighting reiatsu, I think you will find us a suitable fighting partner._

"Lovely," Aizen said, appreciatively.

"He will never reach you!" yelled the hollow king, turning the destructive power of his combined fighters on the stallion.

But as the massive swirl of reiatsu closed on them, Nel loosed her lance, and Arashi launched himself into the air behind it. The lance sliced through the front section of the hollows, cutting a path through the hollows, and blasting others off their feet. Arashi's fierce wingbeats sent any remaining tumbling away, and his great hooves shook the ground as he landed beside Aizen.

_You would do well to accept our help, Tetsuya's voice said in Aizen's mind, We will see you to the chasm and assist you in destroying the hougyoku. We will not expect anything beyond that. I will not ask you to reconsider your decision to leave me._

"A creature of loyalty and resolve to the end, ne Tetsuya?" Aizen said softly, "I must say...I am honored to have been allowed to see you this way."

_Come, said Tetsuya, Let us do what we came here to do._

Aizen smiled and nodded, then climbed onto Arashi's back as the hollows began to regroup around them. The hollow king placed himself in their path.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, scowling, "Your horse has only trapped himself by coming down here. That one Espada cannot hope to protect you as you run for the chasm!"

Arashi turned and loosed a ban kai level blast of ice blades into the hollow's face. The hollow king shrieked in fury, casting off much of the force of the attack, but bleeding from several wounds on his face. He snarled and loosed the power of a grand cero, then gasped and stared as Arashi's ice formed a shield around the two and depleted the power of the cero into nothing.

"No other shimigami wields that kind of power..." mused the stunned hollow leader, "You were the most powerful. What is this creature?"

"This is the full force of my lover's fighting spirit unleashed," Aizen said adoringly, "Sacrificing everything to give himself aggressive power to fight, he will not fail to defeat you. And you should ask yourself, what will happen when we combine our fighting power? Wait...maybe we should just show you..."

The hollow king watched in horror as Aizen's hand came to rest on the stallion's shoulder, and their reiatsu billowed outward with the destructive force of dying sun. The hollows around him screamed and disappeared into the wave as it passed over them, vaporizing their bodies instantly and leaving the king alone and on hands and knees, gasping for breath. He looked up and met Aizen's eyes for a long moment, then the stallion flash stepped forward, driving his horn through the dying king's chest and throwing his lifeless corpse aside. Arashi stopped and Aizen slid down and looked up into eyes that could only be Tetsuya's.

"You have humbled me today," he said quietly, "I will not try to stop you from accompanying me into the chasm. You have more than earned that right, I think."

Tetsuya's eyes looked into his proudly.

_But have I made you sorry that you left me?_

Aizen sighed and looked back across the scorched and dark valley.

"I cannot regret loving you too much to remain with you. But...we can speak of that later. Just know that...it was not a lack of love, but love's very beauty that made me leave you behind."

Tetsuya's eyes blinked slowly and he gave an equine nod, then followed Aizen into the valley.

Behind them, a group of shinigamis appeared on the hillside.

"They are entering the chasm!" Byakuya said, his voice filled with tension.

They flash stepped down into the valley behind the two retreating figures, but were only halfway across when a dome of thick blue ice rose around the chasm, closing it off.

"Damn it!" said Renji, "We're too late! What do we do? How do we get Tetsuya out of there?"

Byakuya stared at the ice and moved forward until he reached it, then stood with his hand touching it lightly.

"There is nothing that we can do...until it is done. Come. Add your power to Tetsuya's shield. We must make certain that the hougyoku is contained."

"But what about...?"

"Tetsuya has likely set waterforms to help them escape...once it is done."

Ichigo gave an aggravated sigh.

"So, now we wait..."


	16. The Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen and Tetsuya face the hougyoku and the spirit that guards the chasm.

"Will you tell me more about this power of yours?" Aizen asked quietly, as he walked alongside Tetsuya's divine form, following the long trail down into the rocky chasm, "When did you discover it? How exactly does it work?"

_While I was a teen, a short time after my zanpakutou formed and Arashi appeared, I began to dream of Arashi in this form...fighting...something massive and very powerful. We were no longer two, but our bodies had joined and were one. Together, the power we wielded was immense...unimaginable. I asked Re-kuhime what the dreams meant, and she told me that she did not know. She only knew that it suggested a potential we had. I put aside my concerns about it, at her advice, though the dreams still occurred with some frequency. I grew strong, training alongside my cousin, and finally, years later, achieved ban kai._

_Upon reaching ban kai level, the dreams became much more vivid. And they were joined by other dreams...voices of others, like me, which whispered the way to unlock our combined power. I was warned by the ones in my dreams, that unleashing that power was something to be done only in the greatest of need...both because of the price I would pay for invoking it, and because it was, for some reason, dangerous for it to become known that I wield a divine power. I only ever revealed any of this to Byakuya, and he advised me to listen to the warnings, and to follow my heart in deciding when it was time to unleash this power._

"I sense that maintaining that form consumes less, but still vast amounts of power," noted Aizen, "Wouldn't it be better to shift back now, and invoke it again when you truly need it?"

_It does not work that way. Once Shinigami Tenba is released, I must remain in this form for the duration of my mission. This form allows me to fight on the level of a divine being, however, such a power exacts a price from the wielder._

"Ah," said Aizen, nodding, "That makes sense. So, what happens when you shed that form?"

_Shedding this form will cause Arashi and I to separate and return to our shinigami and horse forms. The two of us will collapse and fall into a restorative sleep that may last as long as seven days, depending upon how long we held this form. After we wake, we will be powerless for anywhere from a few weeks to a month, again depending upon the duration of our time in released form. As you can see, it is a power to be used judiciously, and only as a last resort. But destroying the hougyoku is a mission of that level of importance._

"Yes," agreed Aizen, "And I am grateful to have your assistance."

 _Are you?_ asked Tetsuya guardedly, _You seemed swift enough to cast it aside before_.

"I did not know you wielded a divine power. Re-kuhime, though she decided to assist me, did not mention that you wielded a greater form."

_It is not something you could have stolen from me, and she knew to protect the information until that was no longer possible. In any case, you know now, and we can address what needs to be done._

Aizen raised his head and looked up into the sky over the chasm, where Tetsuya's ice barrier covered the valley from end to end. It glowed softly, giving them light to see by as they worked their way downward.

"Byakuya is here," Aizen said quietly.

_I know, said Tetsuya, his eyes closing for a moment, I could feel his presence. Renji Abarai is with him...and Rukia, Ichigo and Orihime. Nel and another hollow are with them._

"What will you tell Byakuya when you return to them?"

Tetsuya's eye lowered for a moment and studied the ground as he considered the question.

_I do not know, Tetsuya said softly, an edge of hurt in his voice._

"You know that you cannot go with me."

_And you cannot stay. I know, Tetsuya's voice whispered in his mind._

"I will not allow what happened to Yasu to happen to you, Tetsuya. You are going back to the home I took you away from. You will continue along the way that you were traveling when we crossed paths. The things you were doing that were so important to you will be made possible again. You should be pleased."

_Pleased at being separated from my soul bonded? asked the noble, Sousuke, I have not even been able to enjoy the connection between us, because you have shut yourself away from it._

Aizen turned to face Tetsuya, capturing his equine face and smiling up at his lovely sapphire eyes as they gazed back at him.

"You are correct that I did shut myself off from you. But...as you have followed me here, and I have agreed to accept your help in destroying the hougyoku, I think it only right to also allow the link between us to open fully. In addition to allowing us to fight more cohesively, like you, I long to feel that connection in its fullness."

He ran his fingers lightly down the stallion's face.

"I wish that we could share more before we move forward, but as you cannot change form, this is all we can offer each other."

 _That is all right,_ Tetsuya replied, nuzzling him beneath his chin, _I will accept all that you can offer me, Sousuke, and I will not mourn what you feel you must withhold. Yours is not a tamed soul, not even being bonded with mine. I accept you as you are, and I will not ask you to change for me._

"Nor will I ask you to change for me," responded Aizen, wrapping his arms around the divine stallion's graceful neck and resting his face against Tetsuya's shoulder.

The two went quiet as Aizen took a steadying breath and slowly allowed the pathways between their souls to fully open. Tetsuya's head lifted and his large, blue eyes widened as he felt the opening of that mind that no one else had ever known so intimately. He was overwhelmed as Aizen's soul allowed him inside, allowed him to see the other man in all the fullness of his being. He sank into that incredible blend of darkness and light, of wickedness and gentleness, of lost innocence and evil retaliatory intent. He had never imagined a person could be so complex, so wholly unique...so sadly solitary. But even as that sad thought pulled at Tetsuya's more gentle heart, he saw something that nearly made his heart stop.

_He loves me._

_He truly loves me._

_He knows me like no one else ever has, and he adores everything about me. He does not care about my mixed blood as others do. He loves and respects who I am. And he only feels that he must go because he would find it heartbreaking to see harm come to me because of my association with him._

_Sousuke,_ he whispered, curling his slender neck around the man.

Aizen's arms remained closed around his shoulders as the two slowly fell to their knees together. As they lowered themselves, Sousuke Aizen gazed deeply into the gentle, unspoiled soul that was Tetsuya Kuchiki. He walked slowly through the sad beginnings in a tiny, filthy cell in Itamigiri, sharing secret touches and stealing kisses with the kind boy, Naoki. He felt the odd mix of exhilaration and terror as Byakuya Kuchiki finally arrived and Tetsuya and Naoki struggled to escape. He felt the crushing pain of the loss of Naoki, and as he heard Tetsuya's anguished cries, he wondered how, with everything considered, Tetsuya had endured and held on to his pure heart. He searched its depths for signs of concealed anger or hatred, but found only love and a deep longing for acceptance. And he found the place far down inside the younger man, that belonged to him alone.

_How is this possible...that this one who has seen me unmasked can still look at me with those loving eyes? Tetsuya Kuchiki, you are extraordinary. Of all of the people to cross my path now, how was it that you crossed mine? How did you bear my initial cruelty, and yet see your way clear to fall in love with me? Beautiful...fearless...reckless. You choose your path, and you let nothing stand in your way. You humble me, Tetsuya. You alone make me pause and question my choices. You alone make me want to do the right thing. And sadly, the only right thing is to make certain that you return home. But...it will not be the end for us. No...we do have a future together. Maybe it will not be a home we share, children we raise or growing old together, but we will always remain bound, nonetheless. I can lie to myself and say that I will walk away, but I know already that my heart will make me return to you...always...Tetsuya._

_So do not fear our separation. We are bound at the soul. We will always find a way to be together. We will always find our way back to each other..._

"Hueco Mundo is such a terribly dark place," Aizen said softly into the noble's equine ear, "But you light up everything around you. You even find the small bit of light that still exists within me, Tetsuya, and you feed it just enough to keep it from dying away."

_There is more light inside you than you will ever admit, Sousuke. And you will always find me in that place inside you that burns the hottest. Let our love warm you inside when all else goes cold and dark around you._

"I will."

They sat quietly for a time, enjoying the simple pleasure of sharing space, of giving warmth and embracing their love. All was calm and still around them in the valley. But as time went on, both felt the slow awakening of something else within the chasm...something ancient, dark and powerful. Aizen's head lifted from Tetsuya's shoulder as he sensed it, and Tetsuya's eyes narrowed.

_We are not alone here. There is a presence..._

"Nikuya," whispered Aizen, pulling away from Tetsuya and standing, "The butcher. An ancient hollow lord defeated a spirit demon and caged him here as punishment for the demon attacking him. He left the hollow spirit Nikuya in the chasm to guard against the demon escaping, and to torment him. Somehow, the demon escaped. The written records do not say how, but everyone assumed that he killed Nikuya to gain his freedom."

_I think we know now that he did not._

Tetsuya paused, looking in the direction he sensed the spirit.

_I will engage Nikuya. You continue on and destroy the hougyoku._

Aizen hesitated.

"Nikuya is a horrendously powerful hollow. He is cruel and extremely vicious, Tetsuya. Perhaps it would be better to face him together."

Tetsuya shook his head.

_You must not allow yourself to be distracted from your mission. In this form, I am powerful enough to brace that spirit. Go, Sousuke. I will see that he does not impede you._

Aizen studied the stallion's strong body and glowing reiatsu, then sighed and nodded.

"Be careful, Tetsuya," he warned the noble, "He is more powerful than the hollow king and all of his followers combined were. Be ready to use everything in your arsenal in fighting him."

_I will._

Aizen took the stallion's face in his hands one last time and kissed him lightly on the nose.

"Fight hard, watashi no koi. Do not leave him any openings."

Tetsuya nodded, then turned and disappeared into the clusters of rock to the side of the trail. Aizen continued to move forward, his hand slipping into his clothes to remove the hougyoku. He unwrapped the binding around it and held it in his hand. Even under the repressive seal, the spirit in the stone grew restless, sensing that its chance to escape was nearing. Aizen slowed, then stopped in the very deepest place at the center of the chasm. He set the hougyoku on top of one of the taller rocks and placed his hands on either side of it. He felt the swell of exhilaration in the spirit that inhabited the crystal as the moment of their confrontation neared.

_Sousuke Aizen, I have waited a long time for this, the spirit whispered in his mind, Let us end this. Break the seal!_

"With pleasure," Aizen answered, his eyes glinting dangerously as he set the wards around them to keep the spirit from escaping.

He placed his hands on either side of the crystal housing, then lowered his head and raised his power to its maximum level. Kyouka Suigetsu and Re-kuhime manifested on either side of him, both glowing with the full strength of their power.

"Re-kuhime," said Aizen, "Enclose us further within an ice shield. I do not want the spirit to escape this area."

"Hai," answered the female spirit, sending a swirl of water into the air around them, and hardening it into thick ice.

Kyouka Suigetsu moved to the other side of the hougyoku and placed his hands near Aizen's, adding his reiatsu to his master's.

"When I break the seal," said Aizen, "You will strike the housing. I will invoke the ending spell. We must move swiftly. I do not want the spirit to have time to escape. Kyouka Suigetsu, you will need to shield Re-kuhime's senses so that the spirit cannot influence her."

"I will."

Aizen nodded, then turned his attention to the hougyoku.

"You have forgotten your master," he said quietly, "It is time for you to remember who made and perfected you."

_Be assured, I have not forgotten you, replied the hougyoku, I have grown beyond you. And now, it is time to put an end to you, and to find another who will see his ambitions through to the end._

"You speak of my ambitions as if they were what mattered to you. But that is not true, ne? You only accepted me as your master because my ambitions served your own. When my ambitions changed, you abandoned me."

_What you aspired to was synonymous with weakness. Even now, you reek of it._

"What are you talking about?" Aizen asked, frowning, "I have regained nearly all of my reiatsu...enough power to destroy you. Where is the weakness in that?"

_Do not worry, Sousuke Aizen, I will show you where your weakness lies. Break the seal. Accept your fate._

"I need not merely accept, but will always control the hand of fate," Aizen said softly, "Ban kai, Tenrai dageki, Kyouka Suigetsu..."

XXXXXXXXXX

Tetsuya moved almost silently over the rocky ground, using clusters of boulders to conceal himself as he closed in on the reiatsu of the guardian. He carefully concealed his own reiatsu and stepped forward, his ears rotated forward and his body composed, but ready. The guardian seemed content to wait as he approached. It gave no sign of having sensed him, but Tetsuya was certain that it had not missed the power expelled in the exchange with the hollows outside the chasm, or the power he had used to enclose the chasm as he and Sousuke had entered it.

A rising wind rustled his feathered wings, and he felt the touch of curious eyes. He reached the edge of a cluster of rocks and spotted the huge beast, sitting quietly, out in the open, and making no attempt to hide itself. Frowning, Tetsuya took a steadying breath and stepped forward. He paused, gazing at the beast's spiky, bone-masked, face, powerful catlike body, leathery wings, sharp claws and feral golden eyes. The dangerous eyes blinked slowly as Tetsuya's ears and tail twitched slightly in anticipation.

"Why are you here?" the guardian asked in a rasping voice.

"I have come for peaceful reasons," Tetsuya assured the creature, "I have no cause to attack you."

The creature gave him a wicked smile.

"No?" he asked, coming to his feet, "Well then, perhaps I shall give you one."

He sensed the guardian's flash step and launched himself into the air, spinning away as the beast appeared in front of him and slashed at him.

"I am Nikuya," the rasping voice hissed, "I am the guardian of this valley."

"I am Tetsuya Kuchiki."

"A shinigami in divine form," Nikuya said, eyeing him closely, "Your choice of traveling companions is a curious one, Tetsuya Kuchiki. But I think I understand. So...you think you have reformed Sousuke Aizen?"

Tetsuya gazed at him quietly, but said nothing.

"You are mistaken. I know he has brought the hougyoku into the chasm. I sensed them both."

"He is going to destroy it," said the noble.

Nikuya smirked.

"You think so? Do you really? I have a somewhat different opinion, but I will keep it to myself for now."

Tetsuya's eyes flared and he lowered his horn menacingly.

"I am not interested in your opinions. Stand aside and do not interfere with us. If you do not back down, then you will die."

The guardian let himself drop softly onto the ground.

"We shall see, then, Tetsuya Kuchiki. We will see who is right...and who is dead."

Tetsuya dropped onto the ground and stood ready to attack if the beast moved. The two kept their gaze on each other as Aizen's reiatsu rose warningly. Light flashed across the chasm, and an explosion rocked the ground beneath their feet. Nikuya emitted a soft, wicked laugh.

"The seal is broken," he said, fastening his eyes on Tetsuya, "The hougyoku has been freed."

"Only so that he can destroy it!" Tetsuya insisted, taking a step forward.

"You think so?" asked the beast, "And you think that the hougyoku won't resist being destroyed? What a naive child you are!"

The ground shook harder as a second blast struck nearby.

"You see," said Tetsuya, "He is destroying it."

Nikuya watched Tetsuya closely as the rumbling stopped and the air around them went deathly still and silent.

Tetsuya made his breathing soundless and waited for a sign of what had happened. He felt a stirring in the link between Aizen and himself, and started to smile.

Then, a dark, compelling voice rose up in his mind.

_Tetsuya Kuchiki..._

The noble froze, and Nikuya broke into a wide smile.

"You hear it, don't you?"

_Tetsuya Kuchiki, I am here to make your dreams come true._

Tetsuya took a strangled breath and staggered back, shaking as a horridly strong presence invaded his body.

"What is this?" he cried, "What is happening?"

"You are his soul bonded, ne?"

Tetsuya stared at the guardian in shocked silence.

"Your hearts are linked. And the hougyoku sensed it. It invaded his body, and used it as a conduit to yours."

"N-no..." Tetsuya gasped, resisting as the voice sounded in his mind again.

"It is inside you," said Nikuya, moving forward as Tetsuya stepped back, "And I am going to devour you both, then kill him!"

He lunged at Tetsuya, snarling as he extended his claws and slashed at the noble. But as he reached the frozen stallion, a heavy kido blast took him off his feet and sent him sprawling.

"Are you all right, Tetsuya?" Aizen asked, appearing next to him.

Tetsuya opened his mouth to speak, but was shocked again as the hougyoku took control and forced him into ban kai. Ice blades exploded from his howling mouth, engulfing the brown-eyed shinigami.

_Sousuke! Sousuke, help me!_


	17. While I Fight For Life and Breath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of the battle with the hougyoku and Tetsuya's reunion with Byakuya.

_Sousuke! Sousuke, help me!_ Tetsuya's voice shrieked in Aizen's stunned mind as he flash stepped away from the attacking stallion.

Ice shards slashed at him, many deflected by his reiatsu, but some leaving crimson streaks on his skin. Tetsuya staggered and nearly fell, then turned as the guardian attacked, violently loosing another volley of deadly ice blades. Aizen sent Kyouka Suigetsu into shikai with a harshly breathed command, then flash stepped forward, slashing at the retreating guardian as he evaded Tetsuya's attack. A moment later, he felt the sting of Tetsuya's ice blades and realized why.

_Our bonding means that it is possible to use my zanpakutou's attacks. And while he hasn't yet mastered the blade or gained Kyouka Suigetsu's cooperation, he will have added ability to shatter my illusions._

He flash stepped away, but was pursued by the lovely, winged unicorn, who was able to turn at blinding speeds and continued to shower the former captain with heavy blasts of ice blades. But just as he gained a deadly angle for attack, Tetsuya's swift, equine body was struck forcefully and brought crashing to the ground. Aizen took the breathless moment as the guardian landed and looked to assess whether its attack had destroyed Tetsuya, and invoked Kyouka Suigetsu's power to distort where Tetsuya's laid on the ground.

The guardian saw the illusion of Tetsuya move, and struck him point blank with deadly power, following with rending slashes of his claws. The illusion of Tetsuya screamed in pain and dissolved into nothing. As the guardian smiled at his apparent victory, Aizen moved in and struck forcefully with sword and kido, taking the beast off his feet and sending him tumbling to connect painfully with a cluster of boulders. The guardian struck the rocks with shattering force, sending an explosion of tiny fragments in all directions. Aizen used his reiatsu to shield himself, also providing protection to Tetsuya, whose illusion shrouded form still laid unmoving, on the ground. He struck again at the guardian, sending it tumbling away again, its powerful claws grabbing at the ground hard enough to make it shake beneath their feet.

Aizen flash stepped forward and crashed his sword together with the beast's claws. The two exchanged a barrage of heavy kido blasts and strikes of sword and claw. And as they parted again, blood leaked and ran down both of their bodies.

 _Tetsuya,_ Aizen whispered into his collapsed lover's mind, _Are you all right?_

He froze a moment later as the unicorn's horn pierced his shoulder.

"What?" he gasped, flash stepping away and glancing at the fading image of Tetsuya that laid on the ground, "But you haven't mastered Kyouka Suigetsu!"

"No," said Tetsuya's voice, "But remember, I have the use of the hougyoku. And because it is my will to use Kyouka Suigetsu, your blade cannot help but obey me!

_Tetsuya..._

He flash stepped away as Tetsuya's ice blades erupted from the stallion's open mouth, then narrowly avoided the guardian as it swept by him, slashing at him. The guardian laughed and kept his attention on Aizen.

"Fool! You should never have entered this valley! You are going to die. And once I destroy that unicorn for real, the hougyoku's power will be mine!"

The guardian dove at Aizen, forcing him backwards and slamming him into a boulder, pinning him. He immediately shoved a wicked claw through the man's belly, then tore it away, making Aizen's legs collapse beneath him. His laughter echoed all around them, shaking the valley from end to end as the shinigami sank to the ground at his feet.

The laughter stopped a moment later as Aizen's fallen body disappeared, and at the same time, the unicorn's sharp horn impaled him from behind.

"Nawaka shima," said Tetsuya's dead calm voice.

"N-no!" managed the guardian, trying to pull free as the ice swiftly froze him from the inside out.

Tetsuya waited until the beast was completely frozen, then loosed a finishing blast of heavy kido that blew the guardian's body apart and disintegrated the pieces. He stood quietly afterward, studying the area around him and seeking to penetrate the illusions he knew that Aizen would be using to protect himself.

"It is over," the younger man's voice said solemnly, "You cannot hide from me forever, Sousuke Aizen. I am the hougyoku's master now. It has chosen me to carry on the task of making the three worlds more just."

"And how will you do that, Tetsuya?" Aizen's voice asked, echoing through the small, shielded chasm, "You are a good and decent person. I cannot see you darkening yourself with the hougyoku's power and killing the king."

Tetsuya loosed a blast of ice blades, destroying a nearby boulder.

"I will do what I have to, to make the three worlds more just. No one will ever imprison me again. No one will ever hurt me again...especially not you."

"What do you mean?" Aizen's voice asked.

Tetsuya blasted away another cluster of rocks, still searching for him.

"How did I hurt you?"

"You pretended to care about me. You let me think that, as we moved forward in our travels, that you respected me...that you were falling in love with me."

He blasted away another cluster of rocks and raked the area around him with ice blades.

"You took my innocence, professing to love me. Then, just as quickly as your wicked, lying tongue spoke it, you abandoned me."

"I left you to protect you, Tetsuya. You know that."

"I know I was stupid to ever trust you. You were right to never trust anyone, Sousuke. Trust breeds dependence, and dependence ushers in weakness. And your weakness in wanting normality in the end...in wanting connection...in wanting trust. All of that made the hougyoku reject you."

"And now it chooses you, Tetsuya?" Aizen asked softly, "Why would it choose you over me?"

"You were weak," Tetsuya's voice whispered, "I am strong. I survived years of loneliness and torment without losing my heart. I depended on NO ONE!"

"That is a lie."

"What?" Tetsuya hissed.

"You are not now, nor were you ever alone, Tetsuya. You had Naoki. You had Byakuya. And once your lovely heart showed itself to me, you had me. You still have my heart, Tetsuya. I love you, and I am not going to let that abomination I created steal you away from yourself. Abandon it, Tetsuya. You know you cannot trust it. It is using you as it tried to use me...to see to its own ambitions. That it searched for the strongest shinigami and granted that person's desires is only partially true. It only grants the desires of those whose power it wants to control. I know that in exchange for the hougyoku's power, it demands blind obedience."

_Sousuke, Tetsuya's mind whispered into his, I cannot control it. It controls my body._

Aizen caught his breath softly as Tetsuya's voice continued to sound aloud, and more softly in his mind.

_It cannot pick up our thoughts..._

_No, I don't think it can,_ Tetsuya answered.

_It is going to make you transform, so that it can use you to kill me._

_I know. And I can think of only one way to stop it. The barrier. A divine power created the barrier._

Aizen looked up at the shield that covered the chasm as Tetsuya continued to speak into his mind.

_The explosion will be immense. But will it destroy the hougyoku's spirit?_

Aizen considered for a moment.

 _Yes,_ he answered, _Although it will make you transcend, it is still a mortal spirit, itself. But, Tetsuya, when the hougyoku is destroyed, the force of the exploding barrier will kill you._

_No. The power of the explosion won't be enough to destroy me. However, it will force me out of my divine form and render me powerless. I will not be able to fight after that. So...the blast must destroy the hougyoku._

_It will._

_Sousuke, you must seek the lowest point in the chasm and shield yourself. You, too, are mortal now._

_I have a plan for that._

"Come out, Sousuke," Tetsuya's voice said aloud, "Stand and face me like a man. Die proudly. Do not make me hunt you down and destroy you as you cower and beg for mercy."

_Allow it to transform you now...and I will make a run for the barrier._

_No, Sousuke! You won't get clear in time!_

_I set waterforms outside the barrier, Tetsuya. I will shift to one as the explosion begins. Trust me._

_Sousuke Aizen asks me to trust him?_

Aizen smiled.

_I love you, Tetsuya. And once it is destroyed, I promise, we will find each other again._

_I love you too, Sousuke._

"Fine then," said Tetsuya's voice, ringing through the valley, "Once the hougyoku transforms me, there will be no hiding! Watch from where you hide, then, you coward! One way or another, you are going to die!"

Tetsuya's reiatsu exploded in a brilliant haze of blue around him. Bits of ice swirled around his divine equine form slowly obscuring it and leaving only a dark silhouette as his body began to change again. The unicorn reared, releasing blasts of ice from nose and mouth as the snow flurried around him. His body grew larger and lost its lovely sleekness, the bones growing more jagged, his teeth growing pointy and razor sharp, and the beautiful, feathery wings turning leathery and more batlike. Tetsuya screamed aloud and in Aizen's mind as the blue light around Tetsuya went suddenly red, and a hollow hole formed in the center of the transformed stallion's chest.

_Tetsuya! Tetsuya, are you all right?_

To his horror, there was no answer.

_Tetsuya!_

"What have you done to him?" Aizen demanded, sending an illusion form to confront the beast.

Tetsuya turned glowing red eyes on the illusion of Aizen, and blasted it with a cero.

"Just how stupid do you think I am?" he roared, the shattering force of his voice vaporizing the rock around him, "Show yourself for real, or I will just loose my full power on this valley!"

Aizen sent illusions of himself in all directions, then launched himself upward, in the direction of the barrier.

"DO YOU THINK I CAN'T SEE WHICH ONE IS YOU?" Tetsuya howled, breaking into a run and rising into the air.

His deadly red eyes took aim on Aizen and he angled his leathery wings to gain speed. Heat flared around him as his power swelled again and he loosed another wickedly powerful cero. Aizen felt the burn of it on his skin as he evaded it and neared the barrier. Tetsuya followed at a blistering pace, closing in on him as he reached it. Aizen evaded another seething cero and used the distortion to distract the beast with another illusion. Instead of a simple copy of himself, he altered the beast's perception of how close the barrier was, then cast an illusion of himself that teased Tetsuya into firing his equine body at it.

Aizen felt the hougyoku's reaction of surprise and shock as Tetsuya's body struck the barrier, and his host shinigami gave the command for the barrier to detonate.

"FOOL!" it screamed in Tetsuya's mind, "You are only going to die too!"

The voice turned into a fierce dying screech that cracked across Tetsuya's mind, freezing it with terror as his divine form came apart under the force of the blast, and he and Arashi were thrown clear of the chasm and out onto the desert sand.

They struck the ground forcefully, sending sand in all directions, tumbling out of control until each came to rest and the sand trickled down onto their fallen bodies like snow.

"Tetsuya!" roared Byakuya, abandoning the cover Renji had dragged him under as the barrier exploded, and racing across the sand in scathing flash steps.

He dropped to his knees next to his cousin, dragging Tetsuya into his arms as Renji and Ichigo followed, and the others followed the rambling path Arashi's body had taken. He gazed worriedly down at Tetsuya's ashen face as it struck him what his younger cousin must have done.

"Tetsuya! The hougyoku..."

Tetsuya's wide blue eyes blinked open, and registered relief at seeing Byakuya.

"D-destroyed," he managed in a hissing whisper, "It...invaded my body while...I was in...d-divine form and forced me to transform into a transcendent. But because it could only transform me and not...itself, it was incinerated wh-when I detonated the b-barrier and...the explosion forced Arashi and me to separate."

He cast his eyes about, looking first for Arashi, then scanning the area around him.

"S-sousuke..."

Byakuya frowned at his use of the man's first name.

"Aizen must have been killed in the explosion," he said quietly, "The chasm was completely destroyed."

Tetsuya looked back at where the sides of the chasm had given way, and the gorge had been filled with sand. He struggled in Byakuya's arms, looking in all directions.

"M-my waterforms," he said, pulling away and crawling towards the filled chasm, "He w-was going to..."

"Tetsuya," Byakuya said, gently capturing his cousin around the waist, "The waterforms on the rim of the chasm...were all destroyed in the blast. I don't think that the two of you realized what it would take to get out of the valley."

Tetsuya's eyes widened and filled with tears.

"N-no!" he sobbed, "He has to have..."

"No one came out of the valley," Renji said quietly.

The warning look in Byakuya's eyes warned Tetsuya not to continue. He sagged against his cousin, fighting back tears.

"This is my fault," he whispered brokenly.

"You destroyed the hougyoku," said Byakuya.

"No," said Tetsuya, shaking his head, "I was too weak on my own, even in divine form. It took both of us to destroy the hougyoku."

"And it is gone now. And so is Sousuke Aizen."

Tetsuya caught his breath painfully, but managed a short nod of acquiescence. He leaned against Byakuya's shoulder and closed his eyes.

"He will come back," Tetsuya whispered, nearly inaudibly, so that only Byakuya could hear, "He promised."

Byakuya watched quietly as Tetsuya's wet eyes blinked and closed.

"Is he going to be all right?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes," Byakuya answered quietly, "He has gone into a restorative sleep. Use of his divine form requires that he sleep for as much as a week afterwards."

"I can't feel his reiatsu at all," Renji said, nervously.

"It was sacrificed so that he could fight at the hougyoku's level."

"And it still took both of them to defeat it," said Ichigo, "Damn..."

Byakuya lifted his eyes and looked around them, reading the reiatsu signs in the area.

"We should go," he said, looking back at his deeply sleeping cousin's deathly pale face, "The explosion will have attracted unwanted attention. And we need to get Arashi and Tetsuya home."

Renji gave a soft chuckle as Byakuya stood and lifted Tetsuya into his arms.

"Oh yeah, take the light one," he chuckled, "and leave us to have to carry his fleabag horse's half-dead carcass!"

"We have to carry him?" asked Ichigo.

"No," said Byakuya, as a rumble of running feet sounded in the distance, "It seems that the Gotei 13 sensed the disturbance and sent forces from the base."

"Whew!" said Renji, "Saved from a major backache..."

Orihime ran up to them as they turned towards the incoming shinigami relief unit.

"Does Tetsuya need healing?" she panted, "I checked Arashi and he wasn't hurt badly, just banged up a little from landing so hard on the sand."

"Tetsuya was not injured," Byakuya answered, "But thank you for your concern. It is time for all of you to go. Rukia and Ichigo can escort you back to the world of the living."

A moment later, the group was surrounded by the incoming shinigamis.

In the distance, a hooded man watched from an alcove on the hillside above them. He stared down at them wordlessly as they checked the group for injuries and prepared to return to the Seireitei. In the distance, Grimmjow opened a garganta and led Nel, Ichigo, Rukia and Orihime into it, while the shinigami relief team loaded the unconscious Arashi onto a cart, and took Tetsuya's limp body from Byakuya's arms. They laid him on a stretcher and set it on the cart beside Arashi, then set out across the desert in the direction of the shinigami base in the distance.

"It is better this way, watashi no koi," Aizen whispered, carefully blocking his internal link to the younger man, "As long as I am a fugitive, I would endanger you. Goodbye, Tetsuya. Aishiteru yo."


	18. Naked Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tetsuya recovers from his battle with the hougyoku, and the loss of his lover.

Tetsuya's mind drifted someplace that felt distant and detached from his body. Having only taken on his divine form once before, for a matter of seconds, he hadn't known for certain what it would be like to hold the form in place for extended fighting. Re-kuhime had, of course, warned him about the side effects, the sacrifices of consciousness and the slow return of his powers afterward, but the reality felt harsh anyway. The worst part was having no sense of the state of his body. He remembered being conscious for only some few minutes after breaking free of the chasm. He wasn't sure if his body had sustained damage, or how bad it might be. He was sure that Arashi, too, had survived, but had no idea of the condition of his equine soul mate. He could not even connect with Arashi in the usual telepathic way they had.

But the worst of his uncertainties was what had happened to Sousuke Aizen. Because of his sacrifice of reiatsu, he would not even have the power to feel the link between them for some time. And, in any case, if the man had decided to block the link, there would be no way for him to sense it.

_If he had intended to be with me, he would have come. If he died in the explosion, there would be no power in the link, and if he decided to leave me, he would block it so that I would never be sure whether he lived or not. So, in any case, if Sousuke does not come to me, he is not coming back._

It was odd to feel such rending emotion, but to have no connection with his physical body, and no reiatsu. There was no release for the pent up despair, and it raked his naked soul painfully. It was then that Tetsuya Kuchiki came face to face with a terrifying truth.

_When Re-kuhime gave her warnings to me, I focused on the things that seemed most important...the losses of consciousness and power...a fall into weakness. I didn't realize that those things were only the beginning. The most painful thing about this...this disconnection, isn't that I've lost all sense of my body or my physical and reiatsu based senses. It is my loss of connection to other souls that is the most painful thing. I took for granted the sensory stimulus of other people, the open wavelengths that let me feel the bond between myself and my zanpakutou, my connection to Arashi, and my connection to Sousuke. Sousuke touched on these things when the hougyoku corrupted me and he was trying to urge me to fight. He said that I had never been alone...that there had always been someone._

And there was.

_First, there was my mother, when I was very small, then Naoki, who was my friend. Then came Byakuya, who taught me to stand up for myself, to believe in myself, and how to open my heart to the power that existed inside me. He helped me to connect with Re-kuhime and to deepen my bond with Arashi. Then...after he took everything else away, Sousuke opened a new place in my heart...a space where another kind of love might exist. I had only begun to feel that, when he took it away from me. But even though he closed the link, my heart still felt his presence._

_Now there is nothing._

_I lie in darkness, separated from everything._

_For the first time, I know what it is to be completely alone._

He felt a heavy throb of loss, but couldn't cry. He ached to scream for someone, anyone to come to him, to touch him in some way that he could feel, but couldn't have sensed if he was being touched. He felt fear on a level he had never experienced, but his heart couldn't race, nor his voice cry out. His body couldn't shake and his head couldn't feel the dizzying sensation. Tetsuya tumbled into despair, wondering if time still carried him forward, or if he might remain in this remote, distant state forever. His heart registered something that felt like the beginnings of madness, and he feared he would lose his mind before the darkness abated and everything came back. But just when it seemed that his beleaguered mind must finally shatter, Sousuke's words returned to him.

_You are not now, nor were you ever alone..._

He wrapped what was left of his heart around the words and held on for dear life.

_Because even if I cannot feel them, they have not left me. I know Byakuya was with me when I lost consciousness. He will have taken me home. I am probably lying in my own bed and being watched over carefully. Arashi is in his stall, being cared for by people who know him and will know how to keep him well as he sleeps. Byakuya likely comes to sit with me when he can, and has me observed so that, at the first sign of movement, he will be there to greet me as I wake._

_And Sousuke..._

_Whether or not he lives, he is in my heart now. Just as my parents and Naoki still have their place, Sousuke Aizen has his._

_I am not alone._

_I must trust that._

Under the force of that realization, Tetsuya's despairing heart calmed. He rested quietly in the deep silence, imagining what he longed to feel...cool breeze touching his face, Arashi's soft muzzle, nuzzling his cheek, Byakuya's hand sliding into his and squeezing it gently...and Sousuke Aizen's arms holding him, the man's lips kissing his.

_It is the strangest thing. It almost feels like he is really here, like I have some of my senses back. I can feel his body lying down with me, his hands on my flesh. I can taste his kisses and feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. Even more, I can hear his voice._

"I am here."

The sound of Aizen's voice and the sensations, even though imagined, anchored him and helped him to remain calm and focused. He relaxed into sleep, and as he did, he heard other voices as well.

"He looks calmer now, more restful."

"Yes, Lord Byakuya," said the clan healer's voice, "The horrid nightmares he was having seem to have stopped. I was able to unbind him. I don't know what happened, but something seemed to come over him all of a sudden and he finally stabilized and quieted. He is sleeping comfortably now, and showing signs of returning consciousness."

"That is good," said Byakuya, "It was nearing ten days and he was still unresponsive and besieged by nightmares."

"Well, he is improving now," the healer said in a tired voice, "I am even getting flutterings of reiatsu from his spirit centers. I am sure he will be fine now."

"Arigato, you may go."

"Lord Byakuya?"

"I will stay with him now. Go."

He felt Byakuya's hand slide into his, and the touch of his cousin's calm, quiet eyes.

_I want to see you._

"Be calm. Rest. I am not leaving you."

Tetsuya tried again to open his eyes, to make his lips move, to say something. But even the simple act of sensing Byakuya's nearby presence, of registering his voice and touch, was exhausting to the younger noble. He sank down into the darkness and silence, this time trusting completely the words that Sousuke and Byakuya had said to him.

_You are not now, nor were you ever alone..._

_Be calm. Rest. I am not leaving you._

Their voices stayed with him as he slept, as did the feel of Byakuya's hand holding his, and the sensation of a warm, male body lying curled around him. It wasn't until the darkness left him fully that the feeling of Aizen's closeness slowly dissipated.

_But you were there when I needed you, and I am grateful for that, Sousuke._

XXXXXXXXXX

"You look much better today," Byakuya commented, touching his cousin's face lightly to check for signs of fever, "I can actually register a stirring of reiatsu."

Tetsuya smiled.

"Does that mean that you will finally stop sleeping in the attendant's recess and return to your own room?" he asked, "Not that I don't enjoy your company, of course, but it's hardly fitting for a clan leader to..."

"Nonsense," said Byakuya, shaking his head, "It was merely to make it easier for me to keep abreast of your progress. But, now that you are fully conscious and starting to show signs of reiatsu again, I imagine I could grant you your privacy."

A soft nicker sounded outside the door, making Tetsuya start with surprise.

"Oh," he gasped softly, "Arashi. It seems so strange not to be able to sense him when he's so close."

"His reiatsu is also as abysmally low as yours. That's why you sense the rest of us more easily."

"That's right," Tetsuya agreed, sitting up and slipping his legs over the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing?" Byakuya asked, placing a hand on his chest to stop him.

"I am going to see my horse. I never even knew how badly he might have been injured," the younger man said, placing a hand on his disapproving cousin's shoulder and slowly standing.

The room spun for a moment, and his hand tightened on Byakuya's shoulder as he steadied himself. But the dark spots that danced before his eyes gradually faded, and he took a shaky step towards the door. His quivering legs started to give way, but he was quickly captured in Byakuya's arms before he could fall.

"Arashi is fine," Byakuya said reprovingly, "He is more steady on his feet than you are, watashi no itoko."

"Well, that is because he doesn't have an overprotective cousin hanging over his shoulder and telling him to stay in bed," Tetsuya said, smirking as Byakuya helped him regain his feet.

He leaned against his cousin and walked in slow, careful steps to the open garden doors.

"The moment Arashi woke, the groom had him on his feet and no one discouraged him from walking about to rebuild his strength."

"Oh?" said Byakuya, raising an eyebrow, "And does this mean that you want to start sparring again this afternoon?"

Tetsuya laughed softly.

"I don't think so," he said, shaking his head, "Let's just take this one step at a time, ne?"

"That is usually the best way," the clan leader agreed, providing steadying support as Tetsuya stepped outside and took in a deep breath of fresh air.

Arashi stood on the grass beside the walkway, and stretched out his long, slender neck, nuzzling Tetsuya with a wet, grassy muzzle.

"I see one of you has been nourishing himself properly," commented Byakuya.

Tetsuya sighed, and rubbed the stallion's face and neck gently. He read the signs of equine irritation as the stallion stamped and nudged him harder.

"I know it's frustrating," Tetsuya responded, patting Arashi's sleek neck again, "but it won't be long until we can communicate that way again. Patience, Arashi, everything will be the way it was before."

The words rang through his mind hollowly, and he felt the part of the statement that was a lie.

_Maybe we'll be home and our powers will return, but there is something that was lost when we were taken away by him. I used to think that by taking on the forces that opposed me, by overcoming my critics with confidence and communication, I could change things. It seemed to work before...but knowing what happened to Sousuke...the way that Central 46 failed him, I wonder...how much of a difference could I make?_

_And is my effort better spent elsewhere?_

"Tetsuya."

The younger noble's sapphire eyes met his cousin's quietly.

"We...haven't talked about exactly what happened while you were Sousuke's prisoner."

Tetsuya looked down at the walkway.

"Come now, Byakuya," he said quietly, "We both know that although I started out as that man's prisoner, I could not claim to be so by the end."

"That is not exactly true," Byakuya corrected him, "There is a great deal of evidence that being held captive, being made to understand that one's life begins and ends with that captor...it breeds a dependence."

"I understand the psychology," admitted Tetsuya, "and I cannot claim that I know whether what I felt was that effect or not. But there came a point in my captivity where it wasn't truly captivity anymore."

"At what point was that?"

Tetsuya thought for a moment.

"He did not order me to help him destroy the hougyoku. He tested my power, and then, seeing that I was strong enough, he asked me to go with him."

"And had you refused?"

"He would have left me in that room in Las Noches to await his return."

"But," said Byakuya, "You know, from what happened, that he needed you to be successful. Do you honestly believe that Sousuke Aizen would have accepted 'no' for an answer?"

Tetsuya gave him a weary smile.

"He would likely have just found a way to steal the power he wanted."

Byakuya met his eyes meaningfully.

"Is that not what he actually did?"

Tetsuya's eyes widened for a moment, then he lowered them.

"You know, then, that he..."

"I know that he took you sexually, but there was more to it than that, wasn't there?"

"He asked me to soul bond with him," Tetsuya said, his voice shaking slightly.

Byakuya's eyes darkened.

"And you agreed to this? Why?" he asked, sternly.

Tetsuya took a steadying breath.

"We had just saved each other's lives," Tetsuya said softly, "When he separated from the hougyoku and was newly mortal again, a hollow tried to poison him. I attacked it and was hit instead. He was stunned that I would try to save his life, after he threatened mine so many times. So, he resolved not to let me die. He went and asked Orihime to come and heal me. He saved my life too."

"So, you felt you owed him?"

"No," Tetsuya said, shaking his head, "We didn't owe each other. Our debts were paid. And even though we started out as captor and captive, something changed. Each of us admitted that he didn't want the other to die. And we had common goal in wanting to destroy the hougyoku. I gave in to him and we made love. And afterwards, he asked me to make love with him again and to allow him to bond our souls together."

"He wanted to steal your power," Byakuya said, coldly, "You see that now, do you not?"

Tetsuya closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and met the clan leader's eyes squarely.

"I accused him of that," Tetsuya admitted, "because he did knock me unconscious and try to leave me behind."

"But you do not believe this now?"

"No."

"Why not?" Byakuya asked, "If he is not dead, then he has certainly left you."

"Sousuke stole my powers and left me because he fell in love with me...and he did not want me to be at risk."

"You sound very sure of that," the clan leader said, sounding unconvinced.

"I believe it with all of my heart," Tetsuya said firmly.

Byakuya sighed.

"Watashi no itoko, please understand, you leave me no choice, but to take action to protect you. From this moment on, you are not to speak of what happened to you. When you are asked, you are to say that Aizen sensed your powers and forced you to help him. You are to say nothing of the affair with him. And you are to do nothing that would reveal it. Do you understand? Tetsuya, your very life depends on this!"

"I understand," Tetsuya said softly, "I expected this. I know it is just your way of protecting me. I will obey you."

Byakuya nodded.

"Good. And you will remember...in the case that Sousuke Aizen ever reveals himself to you, he is still a wanted man. You are to tell me at once...and you are not to assist him in any way. Promise me."

Tetsuya bit gently at his lips.

"I can promise you that I will tell you if he comes to me. But...I will not betray him, nor be used to capture him. And I cannot promise that my heart won't force me to protect him."

Byakuya let out a resigned sigh.

"Very well," said the clan leader, "Just mind what you risk, Tetsuya. And do not dishonor our clan."

"I won't," the younger man promised, "I would never do that to you. I love you, Byakuya."

Byakuya met his eyes briefly, then looked away.

"Go back and lie down. You have pushed yourself enough for today."

Tetsuya nodded and turned back towards his room, managing the short distance himself, before collapsing in a panting heap on the bed. Byakuya shook his head disapprovingly and tucked his stubborn cousin back into bed, then squeezed his hand in farewell and left him. And despite not wanting to give himself over to sleep again so soon, Tetsuya dropped off quickly.

Late that night, a dark, shadowy form stole into his room, unseen by the manor guards. He bent over Tetsuya's sleeping form and used a gentle throb of kido to ensure that he would sleep. He left an illusion of Tetsuya sleeping in his bed, and carried the sleeping noble out into the night.


	19. Love's Captive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen and Tetsuya chart the course for their future.

Tetsuya woke to find himself naked and lying in an unfamiliar bed, in an equally unfamiliar place, with a naked man wrapped warmly around his body. His lover's enticing, masculine scent brought an instant smile to his lips, and he laughed softly as the other man lifted himself slightly, grabbed a towel and wiped away the warm, sticky mess that had erupted between them as they slept.

"My apologies," Aizen said in the calm, amused tone he had used before, "It seems I am still not used to lying down with such a lovely companion."

"Sousuke!" Tetsuya exclaimed, sitting up and climbing onto the other man's lap, wrapping his slender body tightly around his lover's slim torso, "I wondered if I would ever see you again!"

Tetsuya's mouth attacked Aizen's with a sweet barrage of hard, open-mouthed kisses, and he moved his slender hips provocatively, rubbing his flushed, hungry length against one as hot and swollen as his own. His mouth left the other man's, to cover his face and throat in more soft kisses that made Aizen smile and wrap his hands around the younger man's pretty bottom, encouraging the intense contact of their erect members to continue.

Overcome with relief at seeing the man alive and well, Tetsuya's emotions got the better of him, and he pushed against Aizen's muscular chest, until he laid down on his back and smilingly accepted his younger lover's amorous offerings. Tetsuya descended Aizen's handsome body, touching, tasting and kissing every inch of exposed flesh. He pushed his lover's legs open wide and laid down between them, devouring the soft, sensitive skin of his inner thighs, savoring the man's soft, warm sac, then moving further down and exploring his entrance with an eager and relentless tongue.

Aizen groaned with arousal, gazing down at Tetsuya's lovely face, closed eyes and possessive, clenching hands. He sank his fingers into the noble's soft hair, becoming dangerously aroused at the feel of it. Tetsuya kissed his way back up to the base of Aizen's thick, damp erection, and tasted the fluid that leaked from the blushing head. He laughed at Aizen's soft, warning growl of pleasure and wrapped his mouth around the man's swollen cock. Aizen's fingers tightened in the younger man's hair as he encouraged the swift rise and fall of Tetsuya's head. The younger man treated Aizen's length to a mind-numbing thrill of long licks, warm kisses and hard suction. The older shinigami moaned languidly, enjoying the passionate expression and the lustful shine in his lover's blue eyes as he gently fucked Tetsuya's hungry, devouring mouth and let the beautiful sensations bring him off and away into a wonderfully intense orgasm. He closed his eyes, gasping and stroking Tetsuya's long, silken hair as the younger man swallowed repeatedly, then slowly licked away every bit of his release. His lips smiled as Tetsuya returned to his mouth to share the warm, entrancing flavors of his explorations.

Aizen thrust his tongue between Tetsuya's parted lips, sinking down into his mouth and savoring the taste of himself on the younger man's lips and tongue. He turned suddenly, toppling the noble and bringing him down onto his back on the bed. And as his younger lover had done, Aizen honored every inch of his body with passionate touches and adoring kisses. He whispered his affection into Tetsuya's ear, letting his breath tickle the younger man's skin and enjoying how he could see the impact of his words and touch in sweet motion of Tetsuya's writhing body, could hear it in the breathless whispers that escaped his lips and could feel it in the passionate clenching of his hands and in the fierce, penetrating kisses they exchanged.

He followed the pathway of lovely, pale skin down Tetsuya's torso, teasing the sensitive nipples until a heavy flush rose on his skin and he struggled beneath his elder lover, seeking pleasant friction against his body. But Aizen held him down and sank his tongue into the younger man's navel, making his body dance feverishly and causing beautiful, panting moans to issue from his parted lips. He spread Tetsuya's slender, white thighs and attacked the flesh along the inner side. Pearly fluid bled from the tip of Tetsuya's highly aroused member, and he groaned and quivered when his elder lover breathed warm puffs of breath onto his flushed, needful member. He gasped harshly as Aizen teased his tight, entrance with a sinful tongue, then panted and moaned as that wicked tongue invaded, bringing a feverish sweat to his skin and leaving him nearly senseless with arousal.

He groaned dizzily as Aizen's tongue left his entrance, only to be replaced with marauding fingers that pushed inside him and tormented the sensitive cluster of nerves there, while Aizen's mouth moved in on his neglected privates. The fingers of Aizen's free hand curled around Tetsuya's flushed erection and tightened, fending off climax as the older man treasured his younger lover's soft, cool sac, then ran his tongue up Tetsuya's damp penis, feeding on the salty fluid that had leaked out, then tormenting it with loving strokes and heavy suction until the younger man's lips parted in a lovely sound of complete surrender, a trembling plea for release.

Aizen's fingers released him suddenly, making Tetsuya cry out as his lover sucked hard and thrust his fingers inside him more forcefully. The younger man loosed a harder cry of pleasure as his back arched, and blazing seed erupted from his riled arousal and fired itself into Aizen eager mouth. He watched relief flood Tetsuya's face, and then calm once again overtook him, leaving him panting and shaking like a leaf. Aizen's fingers continued to pump in and out of the younger man's body, teasing and stretching him as Tetsuya fought to catch his breath and the two surrendered to a flurry of deep, savory kisses.

"S-sousuke," Tetsuya whispered, "I do not know how much more I can take in my weakened state. I feel so dizzy."

Aizen smiled and nodded, then treated his weary lover's body to a barrage of gentler, more soothing touches, while closing his eyes and placing gentle kisses on the younger man's sweating face and throat. Tetsuya gazed up at him dazedly, sadness overtaking him at realizing that the man on top of him was likely to leave him again when their lovemaking was done. Aizen noticed the sudden change in his expression and gazed down at him curiously.

"What troubles you, Tetsuya?" he asked softly.

"You are going to leave me again, aren't you."

He paused, swallowing hard and forcing himself to remain calm.

"And this time, you aren't coming back."

Aizen's eyes met his quietly.

"I did try to leave you already," he admitted, "However...almost immediately, I realized that leaving you is no longer possible."

Tetsuya's eyes widened.

"I came back to you some time ago," Aizen went on, "when I sensed the horrid struggle you were having as your body, mind and heart recovered from the use of your divine powers. I slipped into Kuchiki Manor and laid down with you. Perhaps you couldn't sense me...at least, not at first."

"You were really there!" Tetsuya gasped, "Sousuke, you could have been seen!"

"You needed someone to anchor you," Aizen said, kissing him, "You gave too much of yourself to the task of destroying the hougyoku and you were in danger of losing your mind. I could not just leave you in that state."

Tetsuya smiled.

"You could have before," he said, shaking his head at the memory.

"Yes, I could have," Aizen acknowledged, "I hadn't yet fully bonded with you. But I have now, and that means that you and I are extensions of each other. I cannot simply leave you."

"But I do not want you to be captured," Tetsuya said, sitting up, "Until your name is cleared, it isn't safe for you to be with me."

Aizen's smile widened and he shook his head gently.

"What are you talking about? My name isn't going to be cleared, Tetsuya. It isn't possible. If it was before, I took all chance of that away when I erased the memory of Yasu. And besides, I am guilty of the betrayal that I was accused of. You witnessed, firsthand the extent of my cruelty, Tetsuya."

"I know who you are," said Tetsuya, "and I know why you came to be that way. I also know that they will take into account what Central 46 tried to do to you, and the fact that you destroyed the hougyoku."

"We destroyed the hougyoku, Tetsuya," Aizen said firmly.

Tetsuya shook his head gently and closed his eyes.

"You know that, in the final moments, the hougyoku got the better of me. If you had not changed its perception of where the barrier was..."

"You detonated the barrier, Tetsuya. You still had control of your heart, and that helped you to overcome the hougyoku's influence. Do not doubt yourself. You were the one that dealt it the final blow."

Tetsuya smiled sadly.

"But I couldn't have done that without you. Yet, no one wants to hear that. And although, even as I laid in recovery, the Gotei 13, Central 46 and my clan's council of elders all acknowledged me, there was no mention of you, except that you were missing and presumed dead. They want to commend me for that as well. It sickens me, Sousuke. It feels like a knife in my heart."

"Then do not let your heart reflect on it. I earned their hatred, Tetsuya. I earned yours also. That you have a more forgiving heart..."

"It isn't that I have a forgiving heart, Sousuke!" the younger man insisted, "You were wronged in a way that no one should be! You were denied justice, and that caused you to lose faith in the leadership of our society. You hungered for power, yes, but you wanted that power to force out the ones who denied you justice!"

"But in forcing my design on the world, I denied justice to others...including you. Will you deny that I hurt you? That I threatened you and held you against your will? You cannot 'save' me, Tetsuya. I am beyond redemption."

His eyes hardened and glared into the younger man's warningly.

"And you must give up any thought of trying to do this. You would only get yourself killed."

Tetsuya gazed back at him defiantly, but said nothing. Aizen's eyes darkened.

"Promise me, Tetsuya. Give me your word that you will abandon this silly notion. It is far too dangerous."

Tetsuya looked away for a moment, considering. Aizen's hard gaze softened, and he took the younger man's face in his hands.

"I am sorry, Tetsuya," he said, with sincerity, "I too, long to be able to be with you openly. But I dashed any hope of that happening when I created the hougyoku. And now, the best that we can do is to continue to treasure each other in stolen moments. It isn't a fairy tale ending, but you and I are about as far from hero and heroine as two people can get."

Sadness clouded Tetsuya's sapphire eyes and he let out a soft sigh of resignation.

"Perhaps you are right," he said softly, "It may not be 'happily ever after,' but we still have each other, ne?"

"Yes, watashi no koi," Aizen said, smiling at him, "We still have each other."

He pulled Tetsuya onto his lap and began kissing him again. The younger man's legs wrapped tightly around Aizen's body, and Tetsuya's slender hand wrapped around their hardening members stroking them as he moved his hips, rubbing them against each other. Aizen's hands wrapped around Tetsuya's soft, round bottom, caressing it gently, then invading the younger man's entrance again with his fingers. Tetsuya moaned into his mouth and rubbed harder against him. Their kisses became rougher as their pleasure increased, and gradually the two gave in to their mutual need.

Aizen captured his stiff erection in one hand and brought it to Tetsuya's prepared entrance. Tetsuya settled onto his hardened member in short, slow thrusts, then looked into Aizen's affectionate brown eyes and smiled.

"You aren't going to knock me unconscious and abandon me after this, are you?" he asked softly.

"No," said Aizen, "I will allow you to exchange farewells with me, then give you a gentler fall into sleep. After which, I will return you to Kuchiki Manor."

Tetsuya sighed in resignation.

"You know that I would go with you," he said quietly.

"And abandon your home, your loving cousin...all of the other things that you care about? No. This way is the right one, for now, Tetsuya. I think we both know that."

The younger man sighed again and nodded briefly. Aizen coaxed Tetsuya's eyes back to meet his.

"I will always be where you can feel my presence, watashi no koi. And if you need me, I will be there for you. You may trust in that."

"I trust you," whispered Tetsuya, "I trust you to come back."

Aizen smiled and nodded, then fell to kissing him again. Tetsuya sank into their kisses more desperately, knowing it might be some time before they would be together again. He moved his hips, rising and falling on his lover's swollen length, reeling as it penetrated him deeply, striking the sensitive place inside him repeatedly, until he became breathless and weak, and Aizen's hands controlled his motions more than he did. He held on with all of his strength as he was carried over into release, and Aizen's fiery heat filled him, while his own seed erupted onto their heated flesh.

Aizen lowered him onto his back and slowly licked away the lovely evidence of their coupling. Then, as his lover lifted himself away, Tetsuya pulled him down again for a long, last kiss and tight embrace. He let out a soft breath of surrender, accepting quietly the gentle fall into sleep. His eyes blinked and slowly closed, the last image they captured, a solemn, affectionate expression, the beginnings of a smile and a softly spoken promise.

_I love you. I will never leave you. You have made my heart love's captive once more, and that will keep me coming back to you. And although I give my trust to no one and never lower myself to asking it, I will give my trust to you._

_And you may trust in that, Tetsuya Kuchiki._


End file.
